The Road to Redemption
by Answerthecall
Summary: Transformers: Prime. AU. No pairings. A chance encounter with a troubled youth has an unexpected effect on Breakdown. Little does he know that this seemingly inconsequential event is only the beginning of something much more.
1. Chance Encounter

A/N: Okay, prepare yourself pretty much ANYONE who has read my TF fics. Because for the first time, I am actually _not_ writing a human adopted by a Transformer fic. Yeah, I think my muse has decided it's time to do something different from my norm, and this little plot bunny has just been nipping at me for a good several weeks. So here we go, my first attempt at a fic like this, hope I don't screw it up.

Also bare in mind, Change of Protocol has been discontinued. Long story shot, it just wasn't working out for me. I got bored with my own story, and that should not happen. So The Long Road to Happily Ever After will conclude after this story is over instead.

This fic will contain no parings, and be set sometime during season one of Transformers: Prime.

FULL SUMMARY: Breakdown has always been a Decepticon with little-to-no regard for human life. Tyler Beers has always been a troubled kid, growing up in a household where making "friends" or being "loved" is the very least of his worries. When an unexpected turn of events brings human and Decepticon together, they soon discover what comes from their unlikely friendship may be better than they could ever imagine.

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, Transformers: Prime, or any of its characters. I only own Tyler and whatever other OCs I introduce.

...

**CHAPTER 1  
A Chance Encounter**

Breakdown was bored.

No, he'd past boredom nearly two hours ago. Now he could honestly, without a doubt say that his day of scouting had rendered him in agony. He'd never really been the type to like to sit still for long periods, nor did he care much for being refrained from causing havoc. But in the end, Knock out had one the human game of "paper-rock-scissors" they had played to decide who'd take the shift. He bitterly reminded himself to never let the incident to repeat again as he pulled into the dullest part of town, which he'd come to call "the skids".

It was what he'd call the equivalent of Kaon. A small area of town where the poorest of the poor came from. He often imagined that the area was more than likely producing a new thug, predator, or criminal every day. There was no one out on the sidewalks, and heck, there hardly ever was for that matter. Unless you wanted to run into trouble, Breakdown figured outside of the homes was the last place you wanted to be. At the sound of footsteps, Breakdown shifted his side-view mirror to realize he'd spoken too soon.

If he hand't seen it himself, he wouldn't believe what the human with these kind of guts looked like. The human in question was a child of no more than thirteen years, lanky, with his back hunched and his head down, brown hair cascade over his head, obscuring it from view. He looked like the type of a kid that somewhere such as this ate for breakfast, and had Breakdown honestly cared, he might have offered him a ride. Yet he didn't, what was one human to him after all? Nothing. Caring for humans had always been Autobot territory, and to say the least; he was no Autobot.

He'd begun to shift back into gear to leave the area when a few other humans seemed to step out. The kids that appeared were much older, and much bulkier. Much more along the lines of what Breakdown had seen around the neighborhood before. A part of him wanted to warn the kid to pick up his head and run, given there was not a fair fight to be found in any outcome of this situation. Because if there was one thing he did have, it was honor. And one of these kids the boy may have been able to stand up against, but four was not something he could attest to.

Maybe it was just a sheer stupidity glitch in his sensors. Or perhaps for some reason it was a bizarre stroke of luck for the kid, but what Breakdown did next surprised even him. Activating his holoform, he calmly stepped from his alternate form and took stride beside the boy. His holoform was tall and imposing enough that the kids would find him a hard person to match. None of them had the chance to do so though, because by the time they'd made it to them, the group had dismissed. Highly unlikely to try anything with an adult his size around.

He waited several moments before Breakdown started to turn heel and leave when a voice grabbed his attention. "You didn't have to do that y'know. I could have handled them." Breakdown's holoform turned, and eyed the young human carefully "One good punch to the groin for each of them. That's about all it'd take." He explained.

"At your size? You're lucky I came along, kid." Breakdown snorted "They'd have eaten you alive."

"You don't know me." The boy replied sharply "If worse comes to worse I've got a pocketknife in my back pocket." He glared up at the large mech, not an ounce of fear betrayed in his eyes "So why don't you mind your own business next time? Just because I'm skinny doesn't make me weak." He added, taking the pocket knife out for dramatic effect "Got it?"

Breakdown stifled laughter, though he could not help but inwardly admit, the boy had guts. To stand up against someone his size, he had to either have guts, or have the intelligence of an insect, for that matter. "Whatever you say, kid." Breakdown threw his arms up "I was just trying to be a nice guy. Didn't know you were even armed." The boy eyed him suspiciously "What's your name, punk?"

The boy was silent for a moment. "Why should I give you my name?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Breakdown shrugged "I'm just curious."

There was another pause. "Tyler."

"Breakdown." Breakdown held a hand out.

"What kind of a name is "Breakdown"?"

"What kind of a name is "Tyler"?"

Tyler grimaced a bit, looking thoughtfully at the Decepticon for a long moment. Maybe he wanted to tell him off again, or maybe the kid suspected he was some sort of weirdo (which wasn't too far off from the truth). But either way, he shook his head. "You're weird." Tyler replied "But I guess I should say "thanks" anyway. Since you did still save my ass." He then added "So, thanks."

"Don't mention it."

As Tyler continued on his way, Breakdown waited until he was out of view to deactivate the holoform. His thoughts still lingered on the kid. Something about him intrigued the mech greatly. Perhaps it was the fire in the way he acted, or just his pure guts. But it was, indeed, the first time a human had ever caught his attention before. And the Decepticon could not yet decipher whether or not this was a good, or bad thing.

...

"You're late."

Tyler Beers sighed as he tossed his backpack into the corner of the foyer. He was greeted to the harsh aroma of alcohol and the sight of several beer cans tossed here and there. It was days like these that Tyler liked to close his eyes, and imagine a life without his uncle Brody. He imagined what his parents were like, the parents he never had a chance to know before a car crash took them both. He imagined a life that wasn't his own, or any variation of it. That was all it was, his imagination, but some days, it was the only thing he had.

Brody Larz stepped out from the den with a smug smirk on his pudgy face. He seemed to be half-dressed in his police officer's uniform, and half naked, with a lack of pants making his briefs stand out for all to see. "I ran into someone on the way home." Tyler stood his ground "No big deal, really. I got back before dark, that's all you care about, right?"

"You could go to hell for all I care." Brody snorted "So long as you call me and let me know. I'd rather not go through the trouble of making food for you that you're not gonna eat." He grunted a bit, resting his body against the door frame "Speaking of which, I didn't quite get around to it today." Tyler rolled his eyes, knowing that was no surprise "So it looks like you'll be having whatever's left over from last night."

"We didn't eat last night either." Tyler muttered.

"And whose fault do you suppose that is?" Brody grimaced "I pull my weight around here. You're just living off my salary. Get a job, and then you can buy your own damn dinner." He slammed his fist against the door frame violently "Always whining, always complainin'. If you weren't my brother's kid, it'd be straight off to foster care for you."

Most days, Tyler would have very much preferred living in foster care over living with his uncle. He watched as Brody pulled on his pants before starting off after him. "Where are you going?" Tyler asked "I thought you didn't have work tonight?"

"Poker with the guys." Brody growled "Not that it's any of your business."

"What am I supposed to do for dinner!?"

Brody smacked the side of Tyler's head hard, glaring at the boy. He didn't like a lot of things, but he especially hated being talked to with "disrespect". He shoved Tyler against the wall violently, and looked him in the eyes. "Eat the neighbors stupid mutt for all I care. If you're gonna talk to me like that, it ain't no way to get food in your mouth." After a moment, he let go "You'd better be in bed by the time I'm home. And don't expect breakfast for that matter either, I work the early shift tomorrow."

And with that, Brody was out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Tyler felt as his stomach lurched and growled at him, frowning quietly. He dug into his pockets slowly, finding nothing of value, nor any money. It wasn't the first time he'd go to bed hungry though, it was just a fact of life when what little money your family had was mostly thrown away on Jack Daniels and poker games. He dragged himself to his room, a small, mostly converted walk-in closet in the hallway. As he hit the bed with a quiet sigh, his mind returned to the man from earlier.

He had been weird, at least in his opinion. And he got a generally negative feeling from him that he didn't like while he was at it. Yet he couldn't help but think that it wasn't the last he would be seeing of the man either. Something told him it was more than likely the first of many encounters. As he closed his eyes quietly, he let the thoughts subside from his head. If he couldn't get food to eat, at the very least, he could get a head start on a good, long night's rest.

...

A/N: And there's the first chapter! Worth continuing? Let me know. ;)


	2. Questions

A/N: Thanks to everyone for the overwhelmingly positive response to the first chapter! :) Here's the next one, hope it it'll be just as good! :)

...

**CHAPTER 2  
Questions**

"Need a ride?"

Tyler turned his head as he prepared to cross the street leading from his home. At the sight of the blue vehicle from the day previous, he frowned. Was this man a stalker? He almost wanted to say "no" given the fact that the thought alone creeped him out. "Look, Breakdown, right?" The holoform nodded his head in response "It's nice of you to offer, but you do realize how weird this looks... I mean I know you don't live here, your nice car would stick out like a sore thumb."

"I drive by this area typically." Breakdown replied "Saw you coming out and thought I'd offer." He tilted his head a bit "What happened to your skin?"

As Breakdown pointed towards the bruise on his cheek, Tyler rubbed it slightly. It had been a "present" from Brody when he'd lost his poker game last night and dragged him out of bed to vent. But the last thing he was about to do was tell a complete stranger. "It's nothing, I fell out of bed and hit my jaw on my nightstand." He explained sheepishly "You're not some kind of pedophile, are you?"

"Hardly." Breakdown snorted "The worst you have to worry about is my driving." He explained, popping the door "Now are you coming or what? Last time I'm gonna offer." He explained.

Tyler knew he had lost it, but he was tired, and the walk to school was long. Even as he climbed in the blue van, he knew it was a bad idea, but his decision had already been made. "I go to West End Middle School." Tyler managed "It's on Fairview and Clark. Do you know where that is?" He asked.

"Yeah, I know the general area." Breakdown lied as he looked it up.

As he drove, Breakdown sighed quietly. It was a big risk he was taking for a kid that simply intrigued him like Tyler did. Yet again, the intrigue drove him in a way he didn't quite understand. "So..." Tyler spoke up, breaking their silence "Are you like, one of my uncle's friends or something? Is that why you're doing all of this?" Breakdown turned his head at that.

"Nah." Breakdown shook his head "Not a friend of your uncle's, and not your parents friends either for that matter."

Tyler looked like he had swallowed a golfball at the mention of "your parents". Breakdown waited a minute, knowing he would speak, but it ended up being much longer. The boy stared out of the window silently, and sighed. "Yeah, well... I didn't think you would be my parents friend." He looked back at him "I haven't had parents since I was three." He added "Uncle Brody takes care of me."

It was easy for Breakdown to note the venom in the boy's voice when he mentioned his uncle. Breakdown knew how that story went, remembering his own creators who had passed into the Allspark before he'd even been a vorn old himself. "I know how that feels." He explained, shaking his head "Be glad you've got your uncle. I spent most of my life in an orphanage." He explained.

"Sometimes I think I'd prefer an orphanage."

"Why?" Breakdown tilted his head.

Tyler was silent again, something Breakdown noticed he did a lot. Was it fear that silenced him? The Decepticon couldn't be totally positive, yet the rise in his tension levels landed credence to that theory. "My uncle's a little strict... He's a cop and all, so... Y'know. There's not a lot of room to get away with things." He heard his stomach growl lowly "Ugh, sorry. I didn't get anything to eat today." He muttered.

"You should correct that if you ever want to put meat on those twigs you call bones."

Tyler shot Breakdown the hardest glare that he could muster. Of course, Breakdown did not mean to insult him, nor did he know the true nature of the reason he hadn't eaten. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't exactly live in the lap of luxury." Tyler replied "Sometimes we can't afford food to put on the table." He added "It's no big deal, really, I'm used to it." He explained.

"That isn't right. If you can't afford food, how is your uncle paying for that nice set of wheels I saw?" Tyler was silent at that, unsure of how to respond "If he has money for that, he should be able to afford something for his youngling to eat."

"What's a youngling?"

"Sorry, it's nothing. I meant kid."

Tyler knew that everything that Breakdown had said was true. But what was a thirteen year old kid like him going to do? Nothing. Not when he had an alcoholic, abusive uncle who was, of all things, a cop. It was the same reason that he couldn't just run away, his uncle was the law and could have him in juvie for whatever he wanted if he pulled the right strings. "Well, here's your stop." Breakdown pulled up to the small middle school "I guess I'll see you around?"

Tyler was uncertain of how to best answer that question. Did he really want this guy hanging around him? He was a little strange, and had little to no filter. Yet he also seemed like a nice, cool guy. And he hadn't done or tried to do anything weird with him on the ride. "Yeah, I guess I will." Tyler climbed out of the van calmly "Just, if you're gonna do this again, make sure my uncle isn't home... He'll get pretty angry if he sees me getting into a car with someone he doesn't know." He explained.

Breakdown didn't even know the kid, or his guardian long. But he could already tell that this "uncle Brody" was someone he was not going to like. "Sure thing, Tyler." Breakdown replied finally.

As he took off down the road, he quietly checked the time. _Slag._ He thought quietly.

Knock Out was going to kill him for being late.

...

"Where have you been, exactly?"

Breakdown stared at his colleague and best friend, Knock Out, quietly as he entered the med bay on the Nemesis. The blue mech had never been good with excuses, especially not when he was put on the spot like this. Yet after a moment passed, he found a good enough one to speak. "I was on patrol again." Breakdown shrugged "I thought I saw an Autobot yesterday, one not on Team Prime, so I went to double check the house. Didn't seem to be anything odd."

Knock Out looked as though he was not the least bit convinced. He shook his head a bit, and shrugged himself. "Alright, you don't want to tell me the truth, I get it." He crossed his arms slightly "So, let's have a look at what _used_ to be your optic."

Breakdown sighed, carefully removing the robotic eye patch from the socket. He hated to be reminded of what MECH had done to him, even more so every time he stared into glass and could see the mangled remains. "That really was what I was doing y'know." Breakdown explained "I lost track of time because I decided to terrorize a member of the human population a bit." Knock Out sneered, that, he seemed to believe "So how's it looking Knock Out?"

Knock Out shook his head, and Breakdown knew what that meant. He couldn't ignore or try to ignore it anymore, his optic was gone, irreplaceable, meaning that he would never have use of more than one. Carefully returning the optic patch to his socket, he looked at Knock Out. "If I ever get my hands on those fraggers. I'm going to make them beg for a quick death." He muttered, standing to his feet "Any luck tracking them yet?"

"Who knows with Soundwave." Knock Out shrugged "He's a mech of no words."

Breakdown grunted as he took in Knock Out's rather unkind joke. Though he had to admit, he often made a similar joke to himself. "So, the human you were terrorizing. Did you squash it, or what?" Knock Out explained "If you do, you'd have better collected samples. Those would be great for quite a few of my latest experiments." He explained.

Something made Breakdown inwardly cringe at the thought of doing that to Tyler. Yet he slowly fought back the urge to physically perform the action. The last thing he wanted was for Knock Down to know he had actually become somewhat-aquanted with a human. "Nah, I took him for a little "ride" before throwing him out." Breakdown chuckled "Probably made the little insect lubricate over himself too." He then added "But squashing them is no fun."

"Pity." Knock Out frowned "I could use more specimens. Perhaps I'll take one off the streets again."

Breakdown nodded slowly, looking over a data pad on one of the desks. He looked over the experiments, and quietly noted that it didn't even require tissue samples. Yet what did he care? The humans weren't anything to him, and he honestly doubted that one of them alone would change that view. "Eh, we can always pull a DNA sample off one if need be." Breakdown explained "So, anything exciting happen while I was gone?"

"Nothing." Knock Out shook his head "I'm overwhelmed by boredom lately." He then added "Perhaps now would be a good time to stir up some trouble again. A good little fight with the Autobots might be just the excitement we need." He turned his head "What do you say Breakdown?"

For the first time, Breakdown's mind trailed completely from Tyler, and humans. The idea of a battle always grabbed his attention, and now was no different. It was another chance to cause trouble, thrash Bulkhead, and gloat about it when he got back to base. Even with an interesting new situation, it still did not change one thing: He was a Decepticon, and Decepticons caused chaos. "Oh sounds like fun." Breakdown cracked his knuckles "Where to this time?"

As Knock Out turned to a computer to figure it out, Breakdown only gave Tyler one more thought. Or his uncle, more accurately. Why had Tyler seemingly been afraid of him? If he were a Decepticon, he may have understood, and thought the boy had reason to. But humans did not harm other humans purposefully, did they? "Hey, are you coming or what?" Knock Out asked, motioning to an opened ground bridge.

Shaking the thoughts out of his processor, he simply nodded and started over. His questions could wait for another day.


	3. Revelations

**CHAPTER 3  
Revelations**

Breakdown had not mentally prepared himself for what proceeded those first awkward days. A Decepticon finding companionship with a human was unheard of, they didn't have pets, the Autobots did. Yet the more time passed, the more it felt like he was linked to the boy by some sort of invisible tether. Tyler was a tough kid, tough enough that even with his scrawniness he could have survived Kaon himself. But he was deeper than the toughness unlike those he considered himself "friends" with in the Decepticons. He was intelligent, which was probably what surprised him most. He'd spent much time seeing them as unintelligent insects that he'd never considered that a kid like Tyler harbored such a large cranial capacity.

And with that intelligence, he found himself being able to talk to him on certain levels. And even moreso, he found himself able to learn more about the Earth around him. Though there was only so much that he could learn in three weeks, it was already more than Knock Out's findings could provide him with. Of course, Tyler had no idea how much he was teaching him, in fact he had no idea that he was an alien at all. Yet, he knew if their secret somewhat-friendship was going to go anywhere, he was going to have to tell him. "Breakdown?" Tyler asked, standing from his seated position in the grassy hill they'd situated themselves on "Can we get on with it? It's starting to get late."

Breakdown's holoform stared up, indeed, the sun had started to slowly set over the hill. "I'm waiting for the sun to set. That way I can show you what I wanted to." Breakdown replied, putting his hands on his hips "That's the entire reason I brought you out there. So that we can be alone when I do." Tyler cocked an eyebrow in confusion "Trust me, kid. You'll understand once I show you."

"I thought we established you _weren't _some creep." Tyler said nervously.

Breakdown stared at him a moment, then back at the sky. He supposed it was becoming dark enough now, and quite frankly, it was now or never. Tyler needed to know who exactly he was spending time with. After all, with the time they had spent together, there was only so much time before something happened in the war that affected him as well. "If you'll step away from the vehicle for a few seconds... I'll show you." Tyler stared at him "Go on, it won't take long." Tyler took a few steps backward "You have to promise you're not going to freak out on me." He explained.

"Why would I?"

Breakdown paused a moment, and then disappeared in front of the human's eyes. Tyler took a few steps back again, looking terrified already. But after a few moments, Breakdown found himself staring at the boy for the first time through his one good optic. "Tyler..." Tyler's eyes were bulging, he fell back onto his butt and trembled with fear "Relax kid, it's just me. It's Breakdown..." Tyler blinked "The real me."

For a moment, it looked as though Tyler was trying to register what just happened. "What the heck are you!?" Tyler stated, his voice betraying the brave face he seemingly tried to put on "I don't get it, I just... What?" He crawled back as Breakdown stepped forward "Look man, if you're looking to dissect me or something, could you at least put me out first?" He asked.

"Tyler, I'm not going to hurt you." Breakdown stated calmly "Don't you think if I had intended to I would have done this _much _sooner?" Tyler was silent "As for what I am... It's a little complicated. But from what I understand, your race would consider me an "alien"." He threw up his hands "I know, I'm not exactly a friendly looking one either. But I wouldn't hurt you." He explained.

"How do I know that!?" Tyler snapped "You lied to me before, you could just be doing it again."

Breakdown frowned, having not expected such a reaction of terror in response to the revelation. Rubbing the back of his helm a bit, he stared down at Tyler. How did he assure this to him anyway? He wasn't exactly what the humans would call a "good guy", he was a Decepticon, he worked for what most would call a tyrant. "Against the code of my brethren, the Decepticons, I have grown... Fond of your companionship." Breakdown noted "Hurting you is not something I would do. Nor would I hurt anyone that I consider myself fond of."

Tyler tilted his head a little bit, uncertainty filling his eyes. "You're not going to hurt me?" Tyler stuttered, Breakdown shook his head in response "Then why did you bring me out here at night? Why are you showing me this?" His eyes bulged "I don't get it."

Breakdown shook his head a bit, tilting it to one side. "Because, quite frankly, you had a right to know. You see, I'm in the middle of a war with a faction called the Autobots." He explained "And on the off chance that you got caught in the middle of it. It made more sense to show you this way, rather than have you find out the hard way." He explained "So, are you going to calm down now? Because quite frankly, all this yelling you're doing is giving me a processor-ache."

Tyler stared up at the mech, his gaze lingering as he tried to process everything. What in the world had he gotten himself into? He had known there was something strange about this man, and now he'd just proved his point. "Look, I need... I need time to register all of this." Tyler shook his head "I'm going to go home." He explained.

"Tyler-."

"I just... Do you realize how weird this is?" Tyler asked "Not only did you lie to me. But you're... You're a ROBOT." He pointed up at him shakily "Do you know how many people have lied to me before? A lot, and none of them turned out to be very good people." He started down the hill, and grabbed his backpack off the ground as he did "So I'm going home."

"At least let me give you a ride back."

Tyler wanted to argue, but noting the late hour, had no choice but to climb in as Breakdown transformed. It was going to be a long ride back home.

...

The next day, Breakdown decided to check up on Tyler. He had known he had terrified the boy, and quite frankly, he wanted to be sure that he was at least mentally stable after the revelation. Yet as he turned the corner into Tyler's neighborhood, he could already feel a sense of dread. And the yelling didn't help much either. "I gave you two dollars for lunch! If that ain't enough then tough. You're just getting lectured all day. I need a big lunch more than you do." Brody snapped from the driveway of Tyler's home "Go buy something off the dollar menu at McDonald's if you have to!"

"They don't let us off-campus for lunch."

Breakdown watched as Brody stared down at Tyler, growling under his breath. After a moment, he shoved money into his open hand. The look that the man had on his face nearly sent chills through Breakdown, it reminded him of Megatron on a bad day. "You are such a pain in the rear end." He grunted "You owe me seven dollars punk. And if you don't think you'll be paying it, you're dreaming."

The next thing the man did caught Breakdown off-guard. Before Tyler could even reply, he had flung his fist straight into his gut with a force that seemed to knock the wind out of the boy. As Tyler heaved, Breakdown resisted the urge to rev his engines in anger, yet knew it was not his place to get in the middle of it. The Decepticons would not forgive him for making such a scene with human officials in the defense of another human. "Y-Yes sir." Tyler wheezed "I'll find some way to pay you back."

Brody grinned wickedly and patted the side of Tyler's cheek. "That's a good boy." He stated, shoving him back a bit "Now get lost, you have school and you'd better not be late again." He stole a glance at Breakdown a moment "What're you looking at? Scram!"

Tyler's eyes filled with horror as he locked eyes with Breakdown's holoform. Breakdown rolled down the window, leaning forward as if he had not seen anything. "I'm sorry sir, I had the radio on. Did you say something?" Brody shook his head "Alright, I'm Tyler's teacher by the way. Live near the area, figured I'd offer him a ride." He explained.

"Don't bother, he can walk."

"A whole four miles? I think not." Breakdown replied cooly "C'mon Tyler, get in."

Though Tyler looked ready to reject him, the look the Decepticon shot him seemed to do the trick. As Tyler climbed in, Breakdown floored the gas pedal, getting as far away from the Megatron-like creep Tyler called his uncle Brody. "So he hits you." Breakdown spoke up "I knew you were afraid of him, but I couldn't tell why. I never thought that humans had the capacity for such... Cruel acts upon their young." He turned his head "Ever thought of hitting him back?"

Tyler was silent, he looked out the window. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see if you were okay." Breakdown replied "You seemed spooked yesterday."

"No duh. And you wouldn't be?"

"Don't change the subject." Breakdown replied "How often does he hit you?" He paused "Is that where the marks on your skin come from too?"

Tyler shifted a bit in his seat. "Why do you care?"

"What part of I care about you don't you get?"

Tyler was silent for a long moment after that, though he stared at Breakdown. He shook his head, taking a deep breath. "What am I supposed to do? He's a cop, Breakdown. There's no place I can run that he won't find me." He then added "Even if it happens every day, I'll never get the proof I need." He then added "And yeah, he's where the bruises come from." He crossed his arms "You're better off just avoiding the whole situation. Don't get involved."

"I hadn't planned to." Breakdown replied "But it still fragged me off when he punched you."

Tyler was silent again. "I thought about it by the way, this whole thing." Tyler paused "As long as you don't decide I'm some sort of pet or something... I guess we can still be... What are we even?" He questioned "Friends? Casual acquaintances?" He questioned.

"Let's stick with the latter for now." Breakdown replied "If we're gonna take it to a friendship level, we'd have to know one-another better. Because it could be a dangerous thing." He explained, he paused for a moment "But word of advice, kid? As your "casual acquaintance"?" Tyler turned to his holoform "Find a way out of that pit hole as soon as possible. Even in the short time I do know you, I can tell you deserve _far _better than the way he treats you."

As he pulled into the parking lot of Tyler's school, the boy was silent. Though inside, he knew that the alien robot was right. And he wanted out of there, more desperately than he might ever be able to put into words. "Yeah, well..." He climbed out of the van carefully "I wish it was that easy."

He didn't say another word before walking off from Breakdown. Leaving the Decepticon once again questioning what he thought he knew about human life.

...

A/N: Just figured it was time to get these two major things out of the way. There won't be any major time skips from here on out, though. This time I just didn't want it to seem like these things came out right away, so naturally a time skip was needed. :) Anyways, reviews make my day, and hope you've all enjoyed the first three chapters of my story.


	4. Fighting Back

Neon: You'll just have to wait and see what happens. But I can say one thing: Megatron is NOT going to be happy, at all.

...

**CHAPTER 4  
Fighting Back**

Breakdown had picked him up that afternoon on the refusal to take Tyler back until his uncle left for work. Though Tyler still felt odd around the robot, he was thankful to have someone who cared. Before, he had dreaded going home to his uncle, but with Breakdown now in on his secret, he at least had a way of avoiding him. Once they had made considerable distance from the town, and Breakdown had commend in that he was on "patrol", the mech wasted no time in returning to their prior conversation. "So this "police" thing." Tyler stared up at the fully transformed mech "What is it, some type of human law enforcement?"

Tyler sat on a rock slowly, staring around the mountainous area they had parked at. When Breakdown had transformed, it had answered his own question, after all, they didn't want to cause a scene with a giant robot being sighted. "Yeah, that's pretty much what they are." Tyler shook his head "Which is why I can't exactly run away. Uncle Brody's friends with the chief, like close friends. They'd find me within minutes if I didn't get out of the state." He explained.

"So get out of Nevada." Breakdown insisted "Start a new life and never look back. It's like you said, you make it past the border and you're solid."

Tyler gave Breakdown a look, and crossed his arms. "How? I don't have a car. I can't drive." Tyler shook his head "The police could shut down public transportation. So honestly, it just seems like a waste of time and energy." He looked at Breakdown "Unless you want to drive me out of town. But then they could go looking for _you _and that would be bad given the whole "alien" thing."

Breakdown nodded, knowing that Tyler made a good point. Until he was able to drive, he had no means of getting out of town on his own. Not without raising more red flags than need be. He shook his head a little, sitting on a larger stone. "I wish I could help more. But it's like I said, the other 'Cons would not like it. And if your government got a hold of me." He ran a hand over his optic patch "Well I've had more than enough trouble with humans and lets leave it at that."

"What happened to you, anyway?"

Breakdown was silent, giving Tyler the feeling that it was a topic best left undiscussed. Tyler sighed quietly, looking out towards the sky, then turning back to Breakdown. "You know, I don't remember a lot about my parents." Tyler spoke up "But my dad used to tell my mom... That it's not about who you are now, it's about who you're gonna be." He paused "He used to say it so much, I just sorta remember. And that's what keeps me going." He explained.

"Your sire sounds like a smart man." Breakdown replied.

"Sometimes I wonder how him and uncle Brody could even be related." Tyler muttered.

Breakdown sighed quietly, taking a few steps over casually. Before Tyler knew what had happened, he was sitting in the giant's palm. Breakdown settled the young human onto his shoulder, and peered over at him. "At least you have me now. And unlike that... Slagger, I'll look out for you." Breakdown noted, grinning "As far as I'm concerned, that guy can go frag himself." He explained.

"What about your friends?" Tyler asked "Won't the "Decepticons" get mad if you spend more time around me?"

"Who says they'll ever even know?" Breakdown asked "Don't worry about them, I can handle it. I'm a master of excuses." He then smirked wider "They haven't noticed yet, anyway."

Tyler nodded his head in response, knowing that the mech was right. He stared down at the ground slightly, his eyes bulging as he clung to his shoulder blade. Breakdown chuckled a bit, eyeing the boy casually. "Don't tell me you're scared of heights. I'm not even the tallest Cybertronian out there." Tyler shot him a glare at that "Ease up a little, I'll catch you if you fall." He then added "How much longer until Brody's out at work?" He questioned.

"Thirty minutes." Tyler shook his head "If you have to get back, you can you know. I'll lock myself in my room or something."

Breakdown monitored the comm frequencies, checking to see if anyone was looking for him. Finding nothing, he paused for a moment, wondering if it was wrong for him to not be there. What if Megatron did get suspicious and sent someone out to find him. His thoughts immediately went to Tyler's safety, what his uncle did to him wouldn't even compare to what the others would. "Yeah, I need to get back. I'm spending to much time on "patrol"." He explained "But on the other hand... Y'know if you need me for anything." He began, pulling something from his subspace "Well, here."

He tossed Tyler a small object that looked moderately like a cell phone. "What's this?"

"A comm link. It's meant for minibots. But it'll work for you too." Breakdown nodded his head a bit "If you ever need something, anything. Or if that fragging piece of scrap ever goes TOO far." He asserted "You call me."

"What'll you do if he does?"

Breakdown didn't know how to answer that, knowing getting involved directly would lead to disaster. Yet he still knew that he would do something, that much he was certain of. "Nothing you need to worry about... YET." Breakdown explained "Just call me and I'll figure out the rest."

As Tyler stared quietly at Breakdown, the mech noted the look of surprise, and thankfulness that filled his eyes.

...

"Where have you BEEN!?"

Tyler cringed as he entered the home slowly. Brody stood near the door, his eyes filled with frustration. As he discarded his backpack as usual, Tyler glimpsed a look up at his uncle. "My teacher gave me a ride. I had to wait until he was able to get off work." Tyler shrugged his shoulders "But I did call you and tell you I'd be late. So, it's whatever." He started past Brody.

Brody put an arm out, blocking his exit. The glare in his eyes sent chills up the boy's spine. This wasn't angry or physically abusive Brody, this was another side. The side that always said to "shut up and listen" lest he get to that point. "You need to stay AWAY from him." Brody snarled "He looked nosy, and I don't like nosy people. Especially not around you." He then added "I swear, if he sees so much as a BRUISE."

"He didn't!" Tyler replied hautly "What do you think I am? An idiot. I know what happens if he does. I've lived with you long enough."

Brody smirked triumphantly, shaking his head a little bit in response. Tyler sighed in relief as the man bought into his lie. "Good boy." Brody patted the side of his cheek slowly "Maybe I won't have to lock you in your little closet for the night again." He added "Now, let's go. We're going to have a little chat." He explained.

As Brody led him into the kitchen, Tyler took his usual seat. The boy didn't make eye contact with him, only waited as he shoved a plate of food in front of him. At least, what Brody called food. What it really was better described as was the remnants of whatever he had burned that day. As the man sat across from him with a thick steak, he stared at Tyler calmly. "We never have dinner together." Tyler stated as he eyed the juicy steak "Not unless you want something."

"Exactly." Brody stated with a wicked grin "And here's what I want from you, now." He explained, smirking a bit "Your locket. The one on your neck." Tyler paused, putting his hand over the spot under his shirt where it rested "I want it..." He explained "I'm getting low on funds, and as you know, you need to start pulling your weight around here." He explained "So we're going to pawn it."

"No." Tyler spoke up, standing "This was the only thing my mom left me."

"Minus a trust fund that's no good until you're eighteen." Brody sighed "If that weren't the case, I'd just dip a little into that."

"I'm not giving you the locket."

Brody slammed his fork and knife down on the table and growled a bit. As Tyler made a move backward, Brody carefully slipped the knife off of the table. "Don't make me cut it off of you Tyler. Because so help me, I will." Tyler gulped a bit "Do you want to see more food on the table or not!?" Tyler clutched it tightly "Are you going to give it to me, or not?" He demanded.

For the first time, Tyler found the courage he needed. Maybe it had been from Breakdown's encouragement, or maybe not. But the next words that exited his mouth surprised even Brody. "I don't care if you don't feed me. I don't really care if you can't afford a steak on your plate." Tyler snapped "But you're not getting my locket."

For a moment, Tyler was prepared for Brody to attack him. Yet the man stood there for a moment, set the knife down, and stormed forward. "When did YOU grow a spine?" Brody stared at Tyler for a long moment "Fine, I won't take your locket. You can keep that old piece of garbage." He then glared at him "But you're going to think about what a selfish little brat you are."

Before Tyler could speak, the man had hold of his hair. Tyler made every attempt to struggle, yet Brody made his way down the hallway. When he'd stopped in front of a door, he stood there for a good long minute before throwing it open to a small closet. "Guess where you're spending the night?" He told him coldly, digging into his pocket, grabbing his phone and comm link "You won't be needing these much, will you?" He asked coldly.

"Please, Brody. I just don't want to-"

He didn't have a chance to finish before he'd been shoved against the wall. Brody didn't say a word as he slammed the door shut, Tyler knew it could lock from the outside. It wasn't the first time he'd spent the night alone in the closet, which was the only reason he didn't waste his energy screaming to be let out. But it was the first time that he went there for standing up for himself. As the sound of the door being locked filled his ears, he found a small corner to huddle himself in. Somehow, he didn't feel scared anymore. He'd surprised Brody, he hadn't hurt him, and not being in pain that day was something that made a difference.

Yet it didn't change that he had taken his comm link, leaving him in the dark, alone. And if there was one thing he was afraid of, the dark was it. He closed his eyes slightly, and trembled. Was standing up for himself even worth it if this was the result? Was a locket worth it? As he clutched the locket carefully yet again, his thoughts gave him the answer. He didn't have a lot left from his parents, and no matter what Brody did to him, he would never let him take away something they gave him.

And perhaps, a small part of him knew Breakdown was right. He couldn't physically hit his uncle back. But he could, by all means bite back in other ways. And even as he closed his eyes to draw himself far away from the closet he was now stuck in, he knew he had done the right thing. Or at the very least, he hoped he had.


	5. Meetings, Deals, and Warnings

**CHAPTER 5  
Meetings, Deals, and Warnings**

"You really didn't have to buy me dinner."

Breakdown revved his engine slightly, as if to say "pish-posh". After all, he knew that the man he called his uncle sure wasn't feeding him, and even if he did, you could hardly call what he fed him "food". Though he doubted that Tyler would totally approve of his "printing money" as a means of paying for the food. "You need to refuel." Breakdown commented "At the very least I can take care of that, right? It's not as hard as most of the other scrap you organics need."

"Right." Tyler finished the cheeseburger off slowly "Need to go throw it away though, then you can get going."

Tyler hopped from the hood of the van slowly, turning his head with a smile. Despite the hell he was still living in, the more time he spent with the Breakdown, the more he was able to smile. Yet in his own relaxation, he hardly had time to notice that he had walked straight into a man, nearly knocking the food he was carrying out of his hands. "WHOA!" Tyler caught the cheeseburger quickly "I'm so sorry sir, I wasn't watching where I was going."

Special Agent William Fowler took one look down at his stained shirt, and sighed. Carefully taking a napkin from the tray, he began to wipe and only gave a reassuring smile in the way of Tyler. "It's alright, accidents happen kid." Fowler finally spoke, though his face suggested his actual frustration "I guess I'm gonna have to go get another burger though." He stated, staring down at the crushed burger in Tyler's hand.

"Let me buy you another one." Tyler said quickly, nerves filling him as he dug into his pockets "I uh..." He pulled out the dollar bill that Brody had slapped in his hand that day "I can at least help you out.. A little. I think it's only five bucks." He handed the dollar out to Fowler "Go on, take it, really, I don't need it..." He paused.

Fowler carefully curled the fingers back around his dollar bill. Of course the agent was a little upset, but taking money from kids was not something he was about to do. He shook his head a bit and smiled. "Nah, you keep it, kiddo." He spoke up "Trust me, I have more than enough money to cover it." He explained, looking down at him as Tyler's stomach rumbled quietly yet again "You sound like you could use a little more to eat too."

Tyler shook his head in response. "No, it's cool." Tyler replied "I just haven't..."

Tyler bit back finishing the rest of that sentence, knowing that he couldn't tell the man the truth. The fact that he hadn't eaten in close to a week. If this man went snooping, his uncle would get angry and he didn't want that. Fowler however, could see the weariness in the child, the bags under his eyes, and the lankiness to his body. Even though he didn't know the kid, he could tell the boy needed more to eat. "C'mon, tell me what you want to eat." Fowler stated, taking his wallet out of his pocket "My treat."

Tyler eyed the man suspiciously for a long moment. Why was the man being so kind to him? That was a rarity. Teachers were kind to him, his friends were kind to him. But a random person on the street, Brody's friends, or the like never acted so kind. "I guess another cheeseburger wouldn't hurt..." Tyler stuttered quietly "I mean if you really don't mind." He added.

"How do you like yours?" Fowler asked as he approached the window of the fast food joint.

"Extra cheesy, with pickles."

Fowler smirked a bit, nodding his head in response. "What do you know, that's the way I like mine too."

After a few minutes had passed, Tyler was bitting into another cheeseburger. Fowler chuckled a little, patting him on the back. "What's your name, son?" He asked.

"Tyler."

"Nice to meet you, Tyler, I'm Bill."

Tyler shakily took the hand that Fowler offered, shaking it a moment before retracting. For a moment, Fowler lingered, staring around for any sign of Tyler's parents. By the time he'd looked back, Tyler had wolfed down what remained of his burger, smiling at the man in response. "Thanks a lot for the cheeseburger Mr. Bill." Tyler replied "I need to get back to my friend now though. My uncle's probably wondering where I am." He explained.

"Your uncle take care of you?"

"Yeah."

Fowler stared at him calmly, noticing the red flags in the way Tyler delivered his answer so wearily. He simply smiled, not wanting to pry without properly knowing the kids position. "Alright, kiddo. It was nice to meet you." Fowler nodded.

As Tyler jogged off towards Breakdown, he stole another glance back at Fowler. There was something about the man that seemed... Different. A good different. Like a part of him knew that wasn't going to be the last time he saw the man. But where would he see a man like that again? He was pretty sure that he'd have to be crazy to think he'd never see a guy he'd randomly met again. "Hey." Breakdown spoke up "You ready to go or what?"

"Yeah, I'm ready, sorry."

Tyler stole one glance back at Fowler, and gave a small wave before disappearing inside Breakdown's alternate mode. As the car drove away, Fowler was left with his own uncertain smile. He had to admit, a part of him had the smallest feeling it wasn't the last they'd see of each other either. But for the moment, he pushed those thoughts aside as his phone rang. He answered it slowly. "Fowler, here." Fowler paused a minute "Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way. Don't open a ground bridge until I'm debriefed on the situation."

With a last glance of his own back at the vehicle, he walked off to his car, chewing his cheeseburger along the way.

...

Breakdown was tired as he prepared to return to the Nemesis that night. Making his way down the hallway slowly, it was only a moment before the words he had dreaded froze his circuits. "Done playing with your human pet for the night, are you?" Breakdown turned his head to see Starscream leaning against a wall "With the amount of time you've been spending off-base with him. I'm surprised you haven't taken him aboard. Add a cute little collar and leash and he could make an amusing little house pet."

Breakdown grabbed hold of Starscream's arms, pinning him to the wall violently. The seeker cowered back, surprised at the reaction as Breakdown glared warningly at him. "If you say a word about this to Lord Megatron. If he ends up hurt by your doing in any way." Breakdown brought him close "I will end you, understand?" He questioned.

"How do you know I haven't already told him?"

Breakdown was silent, glaring at him coldly. "Because even you're not that stupid." Breakdown replied "You know that I could and _would _pound you into oblivion." He then added cooly "And for your information, he is _not _a pet. He's a..." He paused, confused "He's a..."

"Oh Primus, don't tell me you've made FRIENDS with the insect."

Breakdown moved his grip of Starscream to a tight one on his neck. A growl reverberated from his lips, fierce, angry, a side that no one wanted to see of Breakdown. He squeezed onto the seeker's neck for emphasis and brought himself forward. "You have five seconds to give me a reason NOT to just snuff you out for being a snide little pit spawn." He stared him dead on with his good optic "That would get rid of the problem all-together."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

Starscream swallowed hard, taking in the look of fury in Breakdown's facial features. He trembled slightly, but after a moment, regained his sly composure. "We're the only two who even know about this. I can cover for you." Starscream chuckled "After all I am our gracious leader's second-in-command." Breakdown titled his head "That kind of help comes at a price though."

"What do you want?" Breakdown growled.

"Your complete allegiance should the time come that _I _am named Decepticon leader once more."

Breakdown stared at him, silent for a moment. He knew he was asking of him the same thing he did when he had "saved" him from MECH. Except this time, he was making him swear allegiance. Was Tyler worth that? Was knowing that he could be safe from Megatron worth it? He thought a moment. "If you double-cross me..." Breakdown squeezed harder on his neck "I won't just betray you, Starscream. I'll hand your head over to Megatron on a fragging STICK." He stated "Do you understand me?"

"Then we have a deal?"

Breakdown looked thoughtful once more, but, with great hesitation, nodded his head. Starscream smirked widely, nodding his head as Breakdown released. He chuckled with glee to himself, scratching his chin plate a bit. "This human really _must _be something else to get you so agitated." Starscream told him slyly "Maybe I'll pay him a visit and see for myself." Breakdown quickly activated a cannon "Or perhaps, I'll just leave the human friendship to you."

As Starscream left cackling, Breakdown took a deep, inward breath. He wanted to be sure that Tyler was safe, but he also knew that with Starscream, you never knew what he would decide the next day. At the moment, all he could really do was hope that Starscream would keep to his word. Which would mean that neither he, nor Tyler would find themselves in trouble with Megatron anytime soon. "There you are!" Breakdown turned as Knock Out motioned him over "Will you hurry up? We have several Vehicons to repair!"

"Yeah, I'm coming."

Breakdown shuddered back his nerves as he followed Knock Out back to the med bay. After all, there was no time to worry when there was work to be done.


	6. A Step Too Far

**CHAPTER 6  
A Step Too Far**

"You haven't been sleeping again."

Tyler rubbed the sleep from his eyes slightly, blinking at the worry in Breakdown's voice. He groaned a bit, and rubbed the temples of his forehead. "No, I didn't." Tyler replied "He put me in the closet again. And you try sleeping in something that small." He muttered quietly, leaning against his door "It's alright, really. I'm working on it." He explained.

"Nothing that pit-spawn does is "alright"." Breakdown growled "Some days I wish I could just bring you to the Nemesis. We have proper sleeping quarters, and our leader is far from a kind person." He explained.

"So take me to your ship?"

Breakdown cringed at the thought of that, having to keep Tyler a secret. Followed by a double cringe that nearly sent him toppling over the mountain side of their usual "hang out" spot at the thought of if Megatron caught them. "Yeah, that's not going to happen." Breakdown shook his head "I really hate to say it, but you're better off with your uncle." He grunted.

Tyler stared at Breakdown, and tilted his head. "If they're such bad people... Why do you work for them?"

Breakdown tilted his own head, and stared at the human. No one had ever asked him why, with his sense of honor, he had joined the Decepticons. In truth, the thought of joining the Autobots had never crossed his mind, even at the start of the war. Perhaps it had been Megatron's promise of a better Cybertron (boy had that been a load of bull), or maybe it was his loyalty to Knock Out. To tell the truth, it had been so long that the mech could not even remember. "Beats me. You're talking centuries ago, kid." Breakdown looked out onto the landscape "All I know is that there's no turning back now."

"Why not?" Tyler questioned "Can't you just say you want out?"

Breakdown snorted quietly, shaking his head. "I don't think I want to at this point. And besides." He shrugged "It's _a lot_ more complicated than you think it would be. Trust me, my leader... He doesn't like it when people desert the cause." He paused "I've seen him snuff out sparks over it back on Cybertron." He stated for emphasis.

Even at his young age, Tyler knew what the Decepticon meant. The thought of the one person in the world who genuinely cared about him being gone made him cringe himself. Without Breakdown, he wasn't sure that he'd ever be able to come out of his shell like he had again. The mech had shown him being himself was okay, and what his uncle was doing was not. And if he lost him... He didn't even want to think about what would happen. "Hey." Tyler looked up "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just... I don't like that you're pretty much risking your life to come see me." Tyler explained "You're the only person who really cares about me. And if you died... If your leader went and "snuffed" out YOUR spark." He paused quietly.

Breakdown was silent for a moment, but slowly crouched down to the boy. It was an understandable fear, especially for someone like Tyler. But he couldn't simply tell the boy that. "Hey." He nudged him a bit "Don't worry about it, alright? This is something for me to worry about, not you." Breakdown smirked "And I'm pretty sneaky when I want to be."

Tyler only nodded slowly in return, putting his hands in his pockets. He took a deep breath, and took a step towards the ledge of the mountain side. He silently wondered who Breakdown's leader was. Why he was so powerful. And most of all, why he was so outright _cruel_. "He just sounds like a big bully." The thirteen year old replied "Why are there so many of them in the world? Brody? Your leader? It's not fair."

_Life isn't fair, kid._ Breakdown mused sadly.

He didn't even bother to tell Tyler that in some ways, he could be seen as a bully as well. He was pretty certain that Tyler already knew he wasn't exactly on the "good side" of the war. And therefore he felt a comment on it to be pointless. "Maybe it won't always be that way though." Breakdown finally replied "Someone's bound to notice and find proof of what Brody's doing." He then added "And then you can get adopted by a good family." Or at least, Breakdown hoped that would be the case.

"And you?"

"It's way too late for me. I made my choice, now I have to live with it."

Deep inside, Breakdown felt himself wondering if that was true. Even if it was the tinniest thought, he had to be surprised. Was he actually re-thinking his choice to join the Decepticons? That was impossible, he liked the Decepticons, he completely agreed with all of Megatron's ideals and beliefs. Or did he? After all, one of these beliefs was the complete destruction or enslavement of the human race. And thinking about Tyler dead or enslaved didn't sit right with him, not at all. It was a feeling he was not used to, and left the mech utterly confused. Was it possible he was becoming _attached_ to this small, seemingly insignificant human being?

No, no one could turn his spark, that was impossible. A foolish belief that was brought out by paranoia after what had happened with Starscream, it _had _to be. "Breakdown?" Breakdown shifted a bit, peering down at Tyler "You okay? You completely zoned out on me for a minute there."

"I'm fine..." Breakdown lied quietly.

The truth was, given his newfound thoughts, he wasn't sure if he was ever going to be "fine" again.

...

Tyler was woken up in the middle of the night by quiet footsteps. Though he knew that his uncle was not yet supposed to be home, he quickly went on-guard, grabbing the pocket knife from the nightstand. He could hear groaning, and fumbling, and instantly knew that it _was_ Brody. "Get up." Brody snapped, throwing open the door "Get out of bed, _now_."

Tyler didn't waste any time doing as he was told before a large man had hold of either of his arms. Tyler screamed as he was thrown violently onto the bed, restrained quickly. He immediately recognized the man as one of Brody's drinking buddies, Roger. "Get off of me! Get off!" He shrieked, though the man pinned him down hard "Get off of me you drunk bastard!"

The man leaned in close to Tyler as Brody ripped the locket off of his neck. With a quick glance back at Roger, he grinned a bit. The look in Roger's eyes told Tyler what was coming. "Alright, I'll see if he has anything else. But you can have him now." Brody grinned "Thanks for the help, Roger. Really, it's much easier with two hands in here."

"Now, now, little man." Roger stroked Tyler's cheek "We'll take this nice and easy."

As Roger went for his shirt, Tyler tried, in vain, to pull away. Quickly, he kneed the man in the groin, and grabbed the lamp from his end table. Before Roger even knew what had hit him, he had violently slammed the lamp against his head. Roger fell over with a shriek as Tyler ran from the room. "You idiot!" Brody growled "Will you handle the little twerp!"

Tyler flung himself out the bedroom door, hearing Roger's footsteps and panting from behind. The man tackled him with such force that Tyler screamed out. He could feel the shirt ripped from his back. His mind quickly filled with thoughts. He _knew_ what this man intended to do with him. And God forbid after taking most of his childhood, Tyler would allow him to take the shred of innocence he had left. "Ready, buddy?" He heard Roger question.

"Go to hell!"

This time, Tyler went for the hand, biting deep and hard into it. As Roger recoiled and bled out in pain, Tyler didn't waste a second stabbing the man straight in the arm with his pocketknife. He didn't even bother running for the door. Instead, he flung himself straight out the nearby window. The impact hurt like heck, he bled a little, but at least he was out of the house. He pulled himself to his feet violently, and he ran. Across the street, down the sidewalk, as far away as he could until he finally heard the shouts die down.

Tears stained his eyes, flowing down in rivers. In the blind stupor, he finally stumbled into a nearby park, seating himself on the nearest bench. He hugged himself quietly, trying to calm his body, which was still violently trembling, to calm down. Finally, he found the comm link in his pocket. "Breakdown?" He waited a moment, silence "B-Break?"

"Tyler, it's four in the morning." Breakdown groaned "What do you want right-?"

"Breakdown... He tried to give me to someone."

There was silence, as if Breakdown were trying to process what the boy meant. If he had asked, Tyler must not have been able to hear due to his own sobbing. But the low, dark growl so full of venom it sent chills up Tyler's spine he did hear loud and clear. "Easy, kiddo... I'm coming." Breakdown said quietly "I can tell you're outside so you got away. And I'm locking in on your location now." He paused "If you have to keep moving, you call me, okay?"

"Breakdown, I'm so scared." Tyler whined softly.

"Just relax." Breakdown replied "I'm coming for you, Tyler, I swear."

The comm clicked off and Tyler was left sitting, shirtless, bleeding, and tear-stained in the chilled air. He didn't stop staring around, he just waited for Brody or his creep of a friend Roger to show up. To take him before Breakdown could find him. Yet no more than five minutes later, he heard the rumble of the engine and saw the warm glow of Breakdown's headlights. "Tyler?" He heard as his holoform exited, and approached him "It's just me." He carefully rested his arms around the boy "C'mon. Let's get you as far away from here as possible."

"But the Decep-"

"Screw that right now." Breakdown stated "You're getting inside me and we are getting you _far_ away from here. Even if it's only for the night." _  
_

Tyler didn't argue any further, he only nodded his head sheepishly. And as he entered the blue van, he didn't question where they were going. He only held himself closely, and prayed that no one would follow them.

...

A/N: Yep, I know. That got dark and escalated quickly. Hope I handled that intense scene well. And rest assured, there will never be any of "that" kind of abuse in this fic. Anyways, reviews make my day!


	7. A Snag in the Plan

A/N: Whoa, all these reviews last chapter. You guys have no idea how much it means to me. Especially since this is my first try at a straight-friendship fic. :) And yay! Double update today! Woot!

...

**CHAPTER 7  
A Snag In The Plan**

"And you're sure the man was going to force himself on you?"

Tyler only nodded his head at Breakdown's question. The holoform peered into his backseat at the boy who had curled up in a ball. Breakdown had parked at their usual spot, keeping them as far out of view as possible. Reaching forward, Breakdown ran a hand down the boy's arm. It was awkward, but what else could he do? After all the boy was traumatized beyond words. "Easy." Breakdown told him calmly "You're safe now."

"I don't want to go back there."

Breakdown shook his head a bit, uncertain of how to respond. Even if he did somehow drive him far away from the town, there were things Tyler would no doubt want to bring with him. They'd have to go back there, but at the same time, if that man Roger was there and waiting for him. He shuddered in anger at the very thought. "We're going to have to go back. Get what you need in order to survive on your own for some time." Breakdown explained "But we'll go when he's gone." He then added calmly "Right now, we're gonna stay right here."

Tyler nodded his head, pulling the blanket they'd stopped to "borrow" around his body. He didn't like the thought of going back, but at least Breakdown would drive him away. Later that day, he'd be far away from his uncle and his abuse. "Breakdown?" Breakdown turned his head back again "What if Roger's still there?"

Breakdown flared up his engines in anger once more, trying to cool himself off. "He'd better hope he isn't. You know what castration is, right?" Breakdown questioned, to which Tyler nodded in response "I'll be giving him that nice little procedure. Or maybe I'll give him to Knock Out, he's been looking for a new test subject." Tyler cringed a bit "What? He'd have it coming!"

"I know." Tyler muttered "I just don't want you to get in trouble."

Breakdown paused a moment, smirking a bit. "You worry about yourself, I'll worry about me." Breakdown took a deep breath "Now, do you have any idea where you want to go? Keep in mind, it'll need to be far." He explained "Because anywhere in the county would have those annoying as all pit amber alerts out given his standing."

Tyler didn't quite know, he'd never dreamed of getting out so soon. And therefore, he found it difficult to figure out where he'd want to go exactly. There was no family to go to, they were all dead but Brody. Where would he go? Where would be far enough from Brody's grip, but easy enough to be spotted and go into the system under an alias? "I don't know." Tyler told him quietly "I guess we'll just drive and I'll pick a place, will that work?"

"Yeah. As much as anything else would really."

Tyler paused a moment, looking down. "When I'm gone... When you drop me off and go back. Will we ever see each other again?"

Breakdown was silent, that was a good question. But he knew the answer wasn't a happy one. He knew that chances were, they'd never see each other again. Driving that distance would be too suspicious, and if the wrong person reported the wrong thing... He shuddered at the thought. He could end up right back in the situation he was in now, and that was not an option. "No." Breakdown replied "Not for a very long time at least. Once you're legal, yeah, we can." He then paused "But we both know meeting before that would get us both in a slag load of trouble."

"I don't know how I'm gonna deal with that." Tyler replied "You've become like my best friend."

Breakdown took that in, he'd always been Knock Out's best friend, even if he rarely said it. But it also felt good to hear it out of the thirteen year old's mouth. He couldn't say whether he considered Tyler a best friend yet. They had only known each other for so long after all. But somehow just knowing he had helped the boy made him feel a certain elation. "You'll be safe from the fragger, and that's what matters." As he heard Tyler yawn, he sighed "Get some sleep, you need it." He explained.

"Promise you'll still be here when I wake up?"

Breakdown's holoform stared at the human silently. "Promise."

As Tyler finally fell back into a deep slumber, Breakdown let his holoform disappear. What was he getting himself into? He was going to be lying to the entire Decepticon army. All for the sake of a young boy he had only recently befriended, a boy who was supposed to be nothing more than an insignificant insect to him. What in the world had this child done to him? Why did he care about him? Could it be that he had, against all odds, grown so fond of the boy he truly considered him a friend?

Even though he knew the answer, it was difficult to believe. Could a Decepticon truly have a change of spark? Or was he beyond redemption? It was an answer he would have to find for himself, but even so, it haunted him. Especially given what he knew he had to do to keep Megatron distracted. _It's going to be a long day._ Breakdown thought to himself _Primus, if you're out there. A little guidance would be nice._

He doubted any would ever come.

...

Tyler moved quickly, and quietly in the shadows of the night. The house was quiet enough to hear a pin needle drop in, yet he couldn't help himself from feeling tense. Brody had cleaned up to the best of the ability, but he was thankful he had not fixed the window. It made it easy enough to break into the small home with the added benefit of not being able to afford a security system. He carefully made his way through the home, keeping both eyes open for anything or anyone. After all, Brody could have been waiting for this moment. Or he could have been out looking out for him right now.

He kept his comm link gripped tightly in his hand, Breakdown had left to deal with matters on the Nemesis. Yet he was only a call away, and Tyler both knew and felt relieved by that. Yet he couldn't help but wonder if the mech would really be waiting for him in an hour when he stepped out of the home? He'd had a lot of disappointment in his life. A lot of people had promised him things, and then broken the promises harshly. But he had to remind himself that Breakdown had never done that. He had kept his promises, he had promised to look out for him and he was.

Yet, he hated the fact that he might have been getting Breakdown in trouble too. What if he returned and his leader had found out? He would not only never see his "best friend" again, but he would be completely wiped from the Earth. Tyler cringed, and let the thought go, it wasn't something he liked to think about, nor that he wanted to think about. He sucked in his gut and entered his "bedroom" calmly. It didn't take him long to search his mind for what he wanted, he only ever owned a few things. One of which, his most cherished keepsake of all, was gone.

He grabbed several changes of clothing, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and towels first. He stuffed them in his duffle bag from the short time he was in soccer. He next grabbed a stuffed rabbit, which his mother had given him as a two year old, a small amount of money he had saved for a moment exactly like this, and finally, the last picture he and his parents had taken before they died. "If you're up there, mom... Dad." He stared up at the ceiling "Keep us safe."

He finally placed it into his duffle bag before thrusting it over his shoulder. His eyes traveled around the room he had claimed as his for ten years. In a strange way, he'd miss it, he had memories in that room, however bad they may have been. It had been his home, even if it was a crummy one. Would he ever have another home? Would anyone ever want someone with the problems he had? The possibility that the answer would be no did terrify him. But he knew there was no turning back now. Brody had taken it too far, there was no longer a question of if he could stay there. He couldn't, it was as simple as that.

After a moment, he finally exited the room, and started down the hallway. In the den, he came face-to-face with the last person he wanted to see. Brody looked angry, even moreso than he usually did. His eyes filled with fire as he glared directly at him, staring him dead on in the eyes. "Where the hell are you going?" He asked drunkly "What is with the bag?"

"I'm leaving, uncle Brody." Tyler stated shakily "For a while."

"You're running off on me." Brody stated "I saw you with that damned teacher of yours. Saw him take you away."

Tyler took a few steps backward as Brody started after him. He looked for a weapon, quickly grabbing a vase from a table, and holding it above his head. "Don't come any closer." He sputtered "If you hurt me, he'll call the police. You'll go to jail! I'll have a witness to the horrible things you've done to me." He shouted angrily "You'd be smart to let me go!"

"Oh _please_."

Brody thrust himself forward, shoving Tyler backward as the vase crashed to the floor. The next thing Tyler knew, a fist connected with his face, knocking him to the ground. He wiped the blood from his face just in time for Brody to lift him to his feet by his collar. "THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!? I took you in!" Brody shouted "I raised you so you wouldn't have to suffer in the foster care system like your dad and I did." He slammed him violently against a wall "And you want to go run off with some stupid teacher. Instead of me?"

"Every time." Tyler growled "He's five times the man you'll _ever_ be."

As his head hit the back of the wall again, Tyler crumpled to the ground. He watched groggily as Brody walked towards the closet door nearby. As he reached through it, he carefully removed a large, metal baseball bat. "I'm not a man, am I?" Brody shouted "Boy you don't know what a real man is." He smacked the bat against his open palm "Allow me to give you a clear definition, won't you?"

As Tyler struggled to pull himself to his feet, the bat swung and connected with his back. Sending him toppling to the ground, all he could do was look up as the bat swung down yet again for another blow.

...

"You _do _realize how stupid this is, don't you?"

Breakdown stared at Starscream wordlessly. The seeker seemed as confused by his actions as he was, but his mind was made up. Whether Starscream was willing to help in this situation was irrelevant in that matter. "I'll be back within a week, maybe two." He explained calmly "If you want my allegiance, you'll cover for me as long as possible." He stared him straight in the optics "If you have a spark anywhere in that cold chasis of yours, you know leaving him there isn't right."

Starscream paused a bit. "I could honestly care less about human affairs." Starscream waved him off "However, you're leaving me with little choice. Given you are my only follower at this given time." He then explained "I'll find some way to keep Megatron and Knock Out at bay. But that's not saying much, especially with the latter." He explained.

"I'll keep Knock Out satisfied with chats as much as I can." Breakdown shook his head "Can't say the same for Lord Megatron."

Starscream nodded his head a little bit, tapping his chin plate. He sighed quietly, putting his hands behind his back. For a moment, it looked as though the seeker was ready to change his mind. Yet, he finally spoke up, albeit roughly. "Fine, what are you waiting for? Get out of here." Starscream replied "If you're going to get going, you'll want to go before Megatron notices our little chat."

"Before I go, remember what I told you..."

"Yes, yes, if anything happens to the boy you'll snuff my spark out." Starscream stated in annoyance "Now, _leave_."

Breakdown didn't have to be told twice, he entered the ground bridge he had been given and transformed at once. At once, he carefully turned on his com link to Tyler's frequency. "Tyler? Have you gotten what you need?" He heard nothing but static on the other end "Ty? Come on, kiddo. This isn't the time to be quiet. What's going on over there?"

He gave it another several seconds before he could feel the intensity in his body rise. What if something had happened to him? Had Brody found him? He felt his spark beating rapidly, fear enveloping him. If that man had been there, if he had even so much as _touched _him. He was silent a moment, and finally, spoke into the comm again. "Don't worry kiddo, I'm coming for you."

Without a second wasted, he floored the gas and took off down the road. He could only hope that his deep-rooted fears were just that: a fear.

...

A/N: Yeah, I know, this is an evil cliffhanger. But I could not resist. Check back in tomorrow to see how this goes. ;)


	8. Enough Is ENOUGH

A/N: This is a chapter I've been waiting to write for a long time.

...

**CHAPTER 8  
Enough Is ENOUGH**

The first thing Breakdown noticed when his holoform phased into Tyler's home was the blood. There wasn't enough that he would be dying of blood loss, but there was still _a lot _to be found. The next thing he found was Tyler, and made both of his bodies, both alt mode, and holoform fill with rage. His body was stained with blood, he trembled violently, and bruises lined every inch of his body. His robotic form may have purged should he have been in robot mode, but at the moment, he resisted the urge. "Tyler!" Breakdown rushed forward, crouching to him "Easy... Easy... Try not to move."

He didn't need the quick scan to know that he had suffered severe damage. He could tell that even more now that he was up close to him and saw the broken arm to top it all off. "B-Breakdown... Behind you." Tyler muttered.

He turned a moment too slow as the bat collided with his holoform's head. Brody grinned wickedly, unaware that the collision had done no damage and that the mech had hardly felt anything. Quickly, Breakdown turned on a built in "camera" in the nano machines which made up his holoform, and began to record the man. "You thought you could take my boy from me." Brody laughed a little "You thought you could save him." He growled "I _knew _the little brat said something! I knew it!"

Breakdown had to cringe as the bat went down against Tyler's side. Breakdown slowly pulled himself to his feet, his teeth gritting, as Brody swung the bat again. This time, Breakdown grabbed hold of the bat like the man had swung it in slow motion. "You are _never _going to hurt this boy again, Brody." Breakdown spoke cooly "And if you swing that bat one more time, so help me Primus, I'll make you get on your knees and _beg _for mercy."

As Brody attempted to swing it again, Breakdown swung it away, making it fly across the den. Breakdown quickly stepped back, forming a wall between Tyler and his attacker. Brody laughed a bit. "You have some real balls, coming here and stepping between us." He then shouted "I'm an officer of the law! I can have your ass in jail for barging in here, and for kidnapping all in one round!" He then snarled "And once I'm finished with the only witness over there. No one's gonna be around to testify."

Breakdown went into a defensive stance, he glared at the man, and his mouth curved back into a snarl. "You think picking on kids is fun?" Breakdown asked with dangerous venom in his voice "You think beating one half to death makes you some kind of badass?" Brody grimaced in response to that "Why don't you try a real challenge, Brody!? PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!" He snapped "Because if you want to hurt him any more, you're going to have to walk over my cold, dead body!"

Tyler's eyes shot up at Breakdown, stunned at his words. This had been the mech that had for so long said standing between them was a bad idea. Yet here he was, standing protective of Tyler like a vicious guard dog. "That's fine." Brody lunged "Why don't we get started?"

"Gladly."

As Brody swung the first punch, it sent his head turning to the side, and Breakdown took his chance. He had hold of Brody's neck before he'd even had time to turn his head, wasting no time in slamming the human hard into the wood floor. For his part, Brody looked as though it had been a much worse blow. But Breakdown was far from done, he had hold of the man's hair now, tearing hard at it. "What the hell man!?" Brody shrieked "What are you doing?"

"You think it's okay to leave a child without food."

At that, Breakdown slammed him onto the nearby table so hard it shattered beneath him. Taking a few steps forward, Breakdown reaped the now bleeding and battered man to his feet. "You think that it's okay to do THIS to him!" He slammed his fist hard into Brody's face at that "And THIS." He slammed it once again into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him "And what about THIS!?"

This time, Brody was sent flying straight into a wall. The loud _crack_ was sickening, and Tyler could hear Brody sobbing. "P-Please... Whoever you are. I can pay you..." Brody looked up "You don't have to do this, man. I've got money, I've got money!" He explained "If we kill him, we can get his inheritance, it'll legally be mine." Breakdown continued to approach him slowly, grabbing the bat as he did "Please, man. Have some mercy."

"You're asking the wrong person for _mercy_, buddy."

Breakdown swung the bat at Brody's head with such force that he was almost sure that he had snapped his neck. Unfortunately for him, that was far from the truth. Breakdown grabbed hold of his hair again, violently, and dragged him down the hallway, towards the nearest closet, just as he often would with Tyler. Only this time, the boy wouldn't be the one sleeping in there for the night. Quickly taking the key ring from the man's pocket, he pulled it out. "No, NO!" Brody shrieked "You can't do that! No one will look for me there! This is MURDER!"

"I'll make sure they find you once the word's out." Breakdown held him close to him "But you'll wish you were back in here if you avoid jail, Brody. Because I'll be waiting for you. And next time, I'm not going to let you live long enough to rot in a jail cell for what you've done."

This time, when Brody's head hit the wall from the way Breakdown threw him, he was out cold. His vitals told Breakdown he was just damaged enough that he wouldn't die, but be feeling it for quite some time. As he found the correct key, and locked the man inside, he quickly bolted for Tyler. After all, none of what had just happened would matter if the very person he had just fought to protect died on him. "Tyler." Breakdown carefully collected the sobbing boy into his arms "It's okay, Ty, he can't hurt you anymore."

"Breakdown... It hurts." Tyler whimpered "Hurts to breathe."

"I know, kid. I know." Breakdown stated "Try not to pass out on me, alright?"

Breakdown didn't know what to do. He couldn't take the boy to Knock Out, he'd be more likely to put him out of his misery and experiment. And he most definitely could not bring him to a hospital, given they were going to ask questions. And without being able to show them his proof without giving himself away, that was just asking for trouble. That left only one option, but it would also mean that Megatron would know what had happened. If he went to the Autobots, he'd either be a prisoner, or a turncoat. Because leaving afterward was certainly not an option. And ultimately, that would mean that he'd be gone for too long. Starscream would tell Megatron. His cover would be blown.

And if he didn't swallow his pride, and turn himself in to the Autobots, Tyler was going to _die_. He knew that he couldn't survive the wounds without a medic, so he could either put him out of his misery himself, or take him. As he silently made his decision, he only hoped he wouldn't regret it. Slowly, he opened a comm frequency, looking through and hacking his way into the one he was looking for. "Optimus Prime?" Breakdown began "I need your help."

...

"Breakdown did _what_?"

Bulkhead's words spoke for each of the Autobots. After all, it was not often that a Decepticon not only hacked their comm channels, but asked for asylum on top of it. The first thing on most of their minds was that it _had _to be a trap. They'd give him their co ordinates, and Megatron would send an air strike via-his ship. "I say we tell him to take a hike." Arcee spoke up, she crossed her arms a bit "We barely save him once, and already he has another life or death situation? There are way too many red flags here." She added.

Optimus Prime took in the small soldier's remark, sighing quietly. "Although this is true, Arcee. The tone to which he relayed this message was... Unnerving. He seemed truly concerned." He spoke calmly "We must remind ourselves that though he is a Decepticon, we are not. And if what he says is true... He is not even the one in need of assistance." He turned his head to Ratchet slowly "Did you detect a second life form with him on his comm patch?"

Ratchet looked over his monitors again, and as they believed, there were two signatures. One Cybertronian, and another, which he was certain was incorrect, was human. With the latter being extremely weak, and perhaps on the brink of death, though still some hours away from it. "A human one." Ratchet spoke up "And it would seem, if he is telling the truth that the human needs assistance. Whomever it is is slowly dying. And it is not from any wounds being inflicted now."

Both Arcee and Bulkhead stared at one each other. Both looked completely uncertain, yet it was clear that the latter information concerned them. What if there was really a human in need of medical care? Could they simply turn them away? From the corner, Bumblebee spoke up himself with a series of beeps. "Bee, you can't be serious!" Bulkhead spoke up "This is Breakdown, he's a jerk. A cold, miserable jerk." Another series of beeps "We don't even know there IS a human!"

"Do we really want to risk the chance there is?" Optimus questioned.

No one could give an answer to that. After a few moments, it was Fowler, who had been listening in, that spoke up. "Look, I'm with the big guy on this one." He stated calmly "If there's a human, that's possibly INNOCENT blood on our hands." He shook his head "And I, for one, am not going to be carrying that burden." He explained.

Optimus waited for objections, or for anything else to be said. But even Bulkhead seemed uncertain about what to say. How could he argue that? Other than the fact that he simply did not like the mech at all. "Breakdown." Optimus finally spoke as Ratchet turned on the comm frequency "Am I to understand correctly, if you come here, you submit yourself fully to us?"

_"Will you help my friend?"_

Optimus turned to Ratchet, who simply nodded in response. "Yes, we will provide aide to your friend. But first, you will be stripped of your weapons. And your comm links must be turned off as well." Optimus explained "And any weapons he may be carrying as well. You must understand Breakdown, this is unexpected. And we have every reason to believe we are walking into a trap." He paused "However, we cannot risk the chance your words are truthful."

_"They are."_ Breakdown replied on the other end _"I'll do whatever the frag you want. But I need those co-ordinates now. He's already lost a lot of blood."_

Ratchet frowned, and turned to Optimus, who simply stood there for a long moment. Finally he nodded his head, giving Ratchet permission to speak. "Breakdown, this is Ratchet. I will prepare the medical bay for the patient immediately." Ratchet explained "If you comply with our terms, I will help him."

_"What are we waiting for then?"_

All optics were on Bulkhead by that point. With a groan, he nodded his head. "Get him in here already. But don't say I didn't warn you."

But in truth, everyone could only hope his warnings were for nothing at all.

...

In his wildest dreams, Breakdown had not expected the Autobot base to be so big. He'd always expected something small, more secluded, not something in the same mountain range where he and Tyler went daily, albeit quite a ways down the mountainside. Yet as he entered the large double doors that led into the base, he didn't have much time to look upon the base with awe. Immediately, he was greeted by Arcee, Bulkhed, and Ratchet, the former two armed, with their guns pointed at him.

"Easy." Breakdown stated "You'll scare him."

"It's for our own protection." Arcee told him bluntly.

"I've already turned off my weapons systems! My coms are down!" Breakdown snapped "Now he's already scared right now as is." He told them curtly "I'm asking you as the Autobots you are not to scare a sparkling any further."

At the word sparkling, both Bulkhead and Arcee slowly lowered their weapons. Sure enough, when Breakdown's holoform stepped out, Tyler was still clutched in his arms, barely awake. Breakdown transformed just in time to see the look of pure horror on all three of the Autobot's faces. "What happened?" Bulkhead snarled "Beating up on us wasn't good enough, so you had to beat up a kid while you're at it?"

"D-Didn't hurt me." Tyler spoke weakly "Saved me."

Ignoring the surprised look on Bulkhead's face, Breakdown turned to Ratchet, his optics leering at him. "I did everything you asked me. Scan my slagging systems if you want." Breakdown spoke calmly "I'll explain _everything_, but get him to the med bay first." He asserted, his optics locking with Ratchet's own "Please." He added firmly.

Ratchet stood there a moment, but carefully scooped Tyler into his palm. Taking note of his condition, his optics narrowed, and he glared darkly at Breakdown. "If you're lying to me. If you've convinced _him _to lie. If this was _your_ doing..." He paused, and then spoke coldly "I will offline you myself for putting an innocent in this condition." He explained.

"But you'll help him?"

Ratchet nodded. "He needs surgery, it will take time." Ratchet explained "But I can."

As Ratchet started into the base, Breakdown was stopped just short of following him. "The doc bot's not gonna like that." Bulkhead said firmly "And more importantly, you owe us an explanation of what the frag is going on here."

Breakdown stood there for a moment, watching Ratchet go with concern. Yet he knew he wasn't going to get to see Tyler, not yet. And until then, he did need to explain himself if he had any hope of getting Brody arrested with the help of the Autobots human friends. "I'll show you, but first, I need somewhere to show a video." He explained.

Bulkhead and Arcee stood there for a long moment, eyeing one another. "Alright, no funny business. Follow us."

After a few moments hesitation, Breakdown finally followed the two Autobots into the base.

...

A/N: And now is where things get interesting. :) Hope everyone was satisfied at how Brody finally got his comeuppance. As usual, reviews make my day!


	9. The Aftermath

A/N: Oh wow, you know, all these reviews mean so much. It really makes me happy to see my first try at something different is being so well received. I'd like to just take a moment and thank everyone who has been favoriting, following, and reviewing this so far. I hope you guys know how much this support has meant to me. :)

...

**CHAPTER 9  
The Aftermath**

Everyone in the room stood in a silent state of shock after Breakdown showed the Autobots the video, and explained the full situation. Fowler, most of all, was stunned to silence at the fact that he had known this kid. It was the same kid from the burger joint, the same kid who seemed like such a kind, albeit timid person. Then again, the mere thought that anyone could do such a horrible thing to _any _child was enough to make one's stomach turn. "Agent Fowler." Fowler turned his head toward Optimus as the Prime spoke, his voice dangerously low "If your government does not handle this _animal_, I will." He stated calmly.

Even a calm and angry Optimus, was still a scary one. Yet Fowler tightened his grip on the railing of the walkway, and shook his head. "Oh trust me, this is going to my superiors as soon as possible." Fowler growled "This guy could be the police chief of the whole town for all I care, he's going to be put behind bars for a long, long time." He looked at Breakdown slowly "And you're telling me he also tried to pawn Tyler off to a pedophile?" Breakdown nodded his head slowly "Sweet lady liberty. What a sick, twisted freak..." His grip tightened even further.

"You're telling me." Breakdown replied "Tyler's lucky I was around, or he could have been..." He paused short of using the word, as it only served to further anger him "Point is, I had planned to get the kid out of town, bring him somewhere that fragger would never find him." He paused "But then things went to pit and I was not about to let him die on me." He was silent for a moment "He deserves a better _life_ then he has. Not to have it snatched from him."

"Since when do YOU care?" Bulkhead asked "The only people that you and Knock Out have ever looked after were yourselves!" He locked optics with his old rival "You expect us to suddenly believe that you actually care about the kid?" Breakdown was silent "What game are you really playing at Breakdown?" He questioned.

Fowler stood there silently, though he agreed with Bulkhead on some level. This kid had seemingly no connection with the Decepticon, even if his story was to believed why did he change his mind about humans now? "What reason would I have to turn myself in, if it wasn't to save his life?" Breakdown questioned "My comm and weapons systems are still shut off." he glared hard at Bulkhead "I turned myself in because it doesn't fragging matter whether he's a human or Decepticon. He's my friend, I c_are_ about him."

The way that last part came out, there was no longer a question that his words were true. Especially as Fowler inspected his optics, which constantly loomed toward the med bay, worry ever present. "And you expect us just to accept that?" Arcee questioned "To just let you join the Autobots like everything you've done never even happened?"

Breakdown was silent, shaking his head. "I didn't plan to turn coat. That's not the point here. The point was getting Tyler to safety, and medical attention." He explained calmly "It's like I told you before, you can do with me what you want. I can take being a prisoner." He locked eyes with Optimus "That's where this is going, isn't it?"

"If you do not wish to become an Autobot, that would be correct." Optimus explained.

Breakdown merely shook his head, he wasn't about to do that. He wasn't sure whether or not he was ready to do that even if that could be one end result. After all, this had all been far too sudden, he had no real time to mull over where things would go from here. "Then lock me up." Breakdown explained, but paused "Wherever you plan to." He explained "Just... Let me see him when he's awake. I want to _know_ that he's okay."

Optimus turned to Fowler, who merely shrugged in response to that. "Very well, that will be arranged." Optimus replied "Bumblebee, escort our prisoner to the brig." He told the young yellow scout calmly "Be certain that his communications and weapons systems are both disabled and removed" He looked at Breakdown "Just in case the Decepticons might make an attempt to force them on and track our location."

As Bumblebee took Breakdown by the arm, the Decepticon made no struggle to fight back. After all, the situation could turn at the drop of the hat, and he refused to endanger Tyler by doing anything rash. Bulkhead was the first person to speak up after they had stepped away. "This makes no sense... Why would Breakdown start caring about some kid?" He questioned "Since when do Decepticons even start caring about anything on this planet other than themselves?"

Optimus was silent a moment, yet he knew that one being would perhaps know the answer. Unfortunately, that human was currently in surgery, and therefore, not to be visited. "Perhaps Tyler will have the answers when he is better... If he gets better." Optimus explained "But for now, we can only watch Breakdown carefully. He has done as we have asked so far." He turned to Bulkhead "Until we have a reason to consider him a threat, no one is to interrogate or otherwise approach him."

"Why are you looking at me?" Bulkhead asked innocently.

Fowler shook his head, taking out his phone. "While you all handle Breakdown and the kid. I should start making some calls." He explained calmly "I'll get someone to drag him out of the closet. But I'm going to need a copy of that video if I'm going to put him behind bars tonight." He shook his head "Getting Tyler out of his legal custody should be a breeze once Child Protective Services gets a look at that."

"Good." Optimus replied "You should get to that then."

Fowler only nodded his head in reply before disappearing into the next room in the base. Inside, he hated himself for not listening to his gut feeling when he saw this kid: that something had been wrong. Now they had him, beaten half-to-death and quite possibly fighting for his life. He shook those thoughts out of his head. The kid would pull through, Ratchet would make sure of that, they all would. And even if he didn't, he would see to it that the boy had justice and the man that had done this would be put away forever.

Even if he knew it was going to be a long, and grueling trial. It would be worth it in the end.

...

"How's our young patient doing?"

Ratchet turned his head as Optimus entered the med bay slowly. At the moment, Tyler was asleep in a berth, recovering from the emergency surgery he had undergone less than an hour earlier. He carefully loomed over the young patient, and sighed. "He lost a lot of blood. But luckily, Breakdown brought him to us just in time." He explained "He will make a full recovery, but I'd expect we'll need to keep him under observation for the next week. Maybe longer depending on how his condition continues to heal." He explained.

Optimus nodded his head slowly, then turned to Ratchet. "It's true, by the way. I have seen video evidence." Optimus explained "Breakdown's worries were honest. In fact, going by the evidence, it is only because of Breakdown that this boy is alive." He noted the shock and awe in Ratchet's optics "I am as surprised as you are, old friend. Yet, we must also remember that anyone, in some capacity, is capable of change."

"Has he chosen to turn coat?"

Optimus shook his head in response to that, to which Ratchet frowned. "He still refuses to abandon the Decepticon cause. Despite how one much one human has clearly changed him." He explained "We've put him in the brig for now, but I cannot help but think he will not be there long." He explained "Whether he escapes, or he choses to join the right side in this war."

"You actually hold hope that the assistant to Knock Out of all mechs will join us?" Ratchet snorted "Are you malfunctioning, Prime?"

Optimus leered at his CMO, who frowned in response. He should have known better, after all, Optimus was able to see the good in any being. And clearly, deep down inside him if nothing else, Breakdown had a good side. Maybe even a soft side given what they had learned. "Primus acts in mysterious ways, my friend. Somehow he brought Breakdown to Tyler. And perhaps, he will bring Breakdown to our side as well."

A slight moan alerted both Autobots to the fact that the young human they had been discussing was starting to awaken. Though he could barely open his left eye, which was swollen, he carefully stared up at both of them. At once, terror filled his eyes as he crawled backwards on the berth. "Do not be afraid, young one." Optimus spoke softly "You are among friends now. We will not harm you."

"Who are you!?" Tyler asked "Where's Breakdown?"

"Easy." Ratchet replied "You'll harm yourself more than you already have." He explained "My name is Ratchet, I am the Autobot's chief medical officer. And the mech that just saved your life." Tyler blinked at that, clearly surprised "Breakdown brought you to our base in order to seek medical attention for you." He then questioned "Do you not remember any of that?"

"Barely." Tyler groaned "So it wasn't a dream, or hallucination, or whatever?" He paused "My uncle, he's really...?"

"Currently being arrested back at what used to be your "home"." Optimus nodded his head slowly "Our liaison, William Fowler is seeing to the arrest himself." He paused a moment, crouching low to him "You will never be going back there, nor will he ever be allowed near you as long as you live." He explained "My team and I will make sure of that."

"Who are you?"

"Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."

Tyler nodded his head weakly, taking a deep breath. "Nice to meet... Meet you both." Tyler spoke up "Thanks, both of you. You didn't have to do this, I mean, you don't even know me." He stated , exhaustion in his voice "I'm sorry that-."

"No apologies are needed." Optimus replied firmly "Whether we know you or not... You are a _child_, and no child should ever be subjected to the horrors that man put you through." He smiled down upon Tyler a bit "Just lay back, continue to rest your wounds. We are already looking at options for you now that you are out of your situation." He explained.

"What about Breakdown?" Tyler questioned "He's still here, right?"

Optimus and Ratchet eyed one another nervously, uncertain of how to approach this subject. Telling someone their perpetual savior had been put in the brig was not exactly the first thing you wanted to tell someone after they'd awoken from surgery. "He is still in the base." Optimus confirmed "But for the moment, tensions about him being here are high. And thus we have... Confined him until he decides for certain how he wishes to proceed with matters."

"He's not a bad guy." Tyler frowned "He's always been a good guy to me. He doesn't need to be confined anywhere!"

Ratchet shook his head in response to that. "We want to believe that, Tyler. But please understand our reasons. We have a complicated history." He paused a moment, and then lied to the best of his ability "I'm sure that he'll be released from his confinement soon." He explained, turning towards Optimus for help.

"He has expressed the wish to see you once you had awakened." Optimus added "Would you like that?"

Tyler nodded weakly, and Optimus nodded at Ratchet before exiting the room. As the medic loomed over Tyler, he put on the best smile he could muster, nodding his head slowly. "I need a moment to check your vitals first." Ratchet spoke up "Just sit still, and allow me to inspect you, I'll take it easy and gentle, I promise." He told him calmly.

After a moments hesitation, Tyler finally laid back. Something told him, deep inside, that he could trust these mechs. They wouldn't hurt him, they were like Breakdown, they were good people. As he felt Ratchet begin his scans, he could only hope that his assumptions were correct.

...

Breakdown was silent as he sat behind the bars. He didn't like the brig, but for the moment, it was the perfect place for him to think about what had transpired. Here he was, actually in Autobot custody. He had given up a great many things all of for the sake of a human boy, let alone one he didn't even know would make it through the night. Was it foolish? Of course it was, he could't deny that, even to himself. But he oddly found that he didn't regret a single thing. If Megatron killed him, at least he would offline knowing he had tried to do something good in his life.

"He's awake."

Breakdown looked up as Optimus Prime approached his cell slowly. The Decepticon breathed a deep sigh of relief, thankful to hear those words come out more than anything. "He's going to be okay then?" He asked, to which Optimus nodded "Then this wasn't a complete waste at least. If Megatron offlines me, at least he'll be safe now." He explained.

"If you switched sides... We could protect you from his wrath."

Breakdown snorted in response, finding that more than humorous. "No one can protect me from Megatron's wrath. I made friends with a _human_, that's a major Decpticon rule to break." He explained "I'm supposed to hate and loathe the human race. To want to destroy them." He paused a moment "But I'm not gonna lie, the more time I spend with that kid, the more I..." He turned his head "The more I can't think that way anymore."

"Then join us, Breakdown. Help us protect the kind you have come to feel such a way for." Optimus spoke calmly "For we both know, should you stay a Decepticon... Should Megatron's goal be reached." He paused "Everything that you did to protect Tyler will be for nothing. Because he'll either become a stain on the ground, or a slave." He paused "Would you wish either fate upon him?"

"Never." Breakdown replied "But it doesn't mean I'm ready to drop everything I am just yet." He explained "If you expect me to even think about changing sides, I need more time. I need to think everything through." He then added "But first, I want to see Tyler, I want to make sure he's okay." He paused "So can I get out of here, or what?"

As Optimus opened the cell, he motioned for Breakdown to follow him. Perhaps, with any luck, Tyler himself could be the very thing they needed to convince them that Breakdown was capable of change. And perhaps, he was also the key to convincing the Decepticon that changing sides was the right thing to do.

...

A/N: Woo. That chapter took a lot for me to get through. Hope it came out just as good as the last! :)


	10. Making Decisions

**CHAPTER 10  
Making Decisions**

"Heard you were up."

Tyler resisted the urge to leap to his feet and run towards Breakdown as he entered the room. Yet he didn't have the energy, and had a feeling Ratchet would not be happy if he did given his present condition. Instead, Breakdown simply turned to Optimus, who nodded in response, and seated himself beside his human friend. "You saved my life." Tyler breathed "I can't believe you really did that. I mean, the way you took down uncle Brody." He paused "What happened to "I can't get involved physically."?"

Breakdown chuckled, patting the boy gently with a hand. "Did you honestly think I would stand by and let him kill you?" He questioned, Tyler slowly shook his head "You're a good kid, and I was not about to let that happen." He held out his fist for a fist bump slightly "You know no matter what happens now, I've got your back."

Tyler carefully fist-bumped the Decepticon and nodded. He laid his arm down at his side, his eyes staring up at him slowly. "Well, thank you. For everything." He paused "You know... They told me you're locked up." Breakdown's face fell at that comment "Is it that hard to just join them? Seriously, Breakdown, this is your chance to show them what I see in you." The mech looked away "You're not a bad guy like they seem to think."

"The only reason you think that is 'cause we're friends." Breakdown shook his head "You've never seen the side of me they did. I've killed people, Tyler. I've done a lot of horrible things." He shook his head "The truth is I don't think I _deserve _to be an Autobot."

Tyler watched Breakdown as his optic saddened. He didn't know that it was because the mech knew the other option was death, but he did know, and could very easily tell that something was wrong. He didn't know what to think, the idea of Tyler as a prisoner. He looked up at Breakdown slowly, and smiled as much as he could. "I know. I knew you weren't working for the "good guys" for like, ever now." Breakdown raised his optic ridges "You didn't think that I figured the stuff you'd probably done already?" He shook his head in response "I knew."

"And you still wanted to be my friend?" Breakdown questioned.

"Sure, it's not about what you did. It's about who you are, right?" Tyler questioned "Deep down in that armor of yours, you're not such a "bad" guy at all. You've made bad choices, so what?" He questioned "You went and saved my life. You could have just walked away." He looked down "You didn't and I think that says something." He stared up "Even if you don't."

Breakdown was silent, processing the words. He had never seen anyone see him as anything other than "bad news" since he was a sparkling himself. And like many things Tyler had said over their time together, those words made an impact in him. "You really think that I can change that easily, huh?" Breakdown questioned "I get what you think of me, Tyler. I really do. But I haven't been that kind of person to anyone but you in a _very_ long time. Since I was even younger than you." He looked down on him "Do you honestly think that anyone is going to take a change like this seriously?"

"Probably not at first." Tyler admitted "But why not give it a shot? What do you have to loose?"

For the first time, Breakdown realized he had nothing left to lose. With the exception of Knock Out's friendship, his connection to the Decepticons was close to nonexistent. They were never going to allow him back either, not in his mind anyway. Given the fact he had given himself over to the Decepticons, and befriended a human, he would be a dead mech. But with the Autobots, he would live, it would be a strained trust at first, but every alliance was at first. "The only thing I can loose at this point is my friend Knock Out." Breakdown stated "And you."

"I bet the Autobots would let us stay friends." Tyler replied "We could become partners, or something."

Oddly, Breakdown did like the mental image of that. He knew that some of the other Autobots had human partners. Ones they protected, worked with, and fought alongside. It was common knowledge to the Decepticons at this point, yet if he had been asked a few weeks ago, he would never have considered the idea. Now, however, the idea of becoming Tyler's partner did not sound bad at all. "I must have lost my processor." Breakdown stood a bit "You're making me consider going back on everything I've believed in for vorns now."

"You don't have to though." Tyler replied "I mean, I was just-"

"No, you're right." Breakdown interrupted "Something brought us together. Could've been fate, Primus, or that God of yours." Breakdown turned around to face the human again "And I can't help but think that we're not supposed to be torn apart." He added "I'm going to miss Knock Out like pit. But I've already burned my bridges with the Decepticons, now." He added "I guess it's time I started building new ones with the Autobots."

Breakdown could not believe the words had come out of his mouth. But there was no going back now, his processor had made itself up. And he would now have to deal with the lasting consequences, both good and bad. "So you're gonna do it?" Tyler asked "You're really gonna go and join them?"

"Yeah." Breakdown nodded "I guess I am."

Even though neither said it, they were both thinking the same thing. This was the very beginning of a long, and hard road. And they could only hope that it would be worth it once they reached the end of it.

...

"I get letting him join up. But you can't just stick him with the kid."

Optimus peered over at Fowler, who stood in front of both Breakdown and Optimus with his arms crossed. Breakdown frowned a bit, having not liked the sound of what he had just said. "Look, Agent Fowler." Breakdown began "I get that Tyler is going somewhere after he leaves. But wherever that is, I'm sure as pit going with him." He groaned "After all I've seen him go through, can you honestly blame me for wanting to know he's safe and taken care of?"

"But you're an ex con!" Fowler asserted "I get you've had a change of heart. I get that you're turn coating." He paused "But you're asking us to let you have the kid before you've even proven this whole "change of spark" is going to last." He took a deep breath "And imagine explaining it to the foster parents. Oh hey, on top of this bruised and battered kid, we're giving you a giant robot for free!"

Breakdown looked about ready to stomp on the man before Optimus held him back. Taking a step forward, the Autobot leader shook his head. He placed his hands up as if to break up the fight before it even started. "The fact of the matter remains that Breakdown's status as "Autobot" is for the moment, probationary." He explained "Yet we have agreed to allow him to be Tyler's partner until such a time that changes." He paused "Therefore, we come to the reason I called you both together." He eyed Fowler "Tyler will need a foster parent who already knows of our kind, and can keep an eye on Breakdown until that period is over."

The two of them were silent for a long moment, neither truly understanding. But after a moment, it was Fowler's eyes that bulged with recognition of what Optimus seemed to be suggesting. "You have _got _to be kidding me, Prime." Fowler replied in shock "I haven't been fostering since Marie left because she was always better than me." He grew frustrated "And you can't stick me with babysitting an ex-maniac!"

"Right here y'know." Breakdown snarled.

Fowler placed his hands on his hips, scowling at the now former Decepticon. It wasn't so much that he minded taking Tyler, given he liked the kid upon their first meeting. It was the idea that by taking Tyler he was also being saddled with someone who had only _recently _decided to join the right side in the war. "Look, I don't mind taking the kid." Fowler stated "But do I really have to be the one babysitting one of you guys at hime too?" He questioned "Can't the probation just mean he can't be a partner at all?"

"It was part of the deal we made." Breakdown replied "If Tyler leaves this base, I leave this base. Do you really think after what just happened I'd let just anyone take him without keeping an eye out?"He crouched low to Fowler "And considering I don't know the first fragging thing about you. And neither of us really have a choice but to agree."

Fowler groaned, knowing that the mech was telling the truth. Optimus had already made up his mind if he was talking to them about this. He had no choice but to take both of them at this point, or quit his job. The latter of which he didn't plan to do anytime soon considering he had started to enjoy it. "It would only be temporary, Agent Fowler. As far as both of them are concerned." Optimus explained "Probation such as this merely lasts for eight Earth months, or until Breakdown proves to us that he can be trusted by some other means." He added.

"Eight months, and he's gone?"

"Don't sound so smug about it either." Breakdown scowled.

Fowler simply groaned a bit, but nodded. He knew that it would be a long eight months, but at least it wouldn't be forever, right? "Fine, I'll do it, I'll do it." Fowler stated "But I take my job very seriously. So you'd better believe that you can't get away with any "funny business" around me." He told Breakdown sharply "And if you end up betraying us, I hope you know. I _hate_ being lied to." He added.

"Then we won't have a problem."

Optimus sighed, wishing they had had other options, and other allies that were currently or formerly registered foster parents. Yet, as it stood this was their only option, and until Breakdown proved himself, or that time passed, this _would _be the arrangement. No matter what an irritation their already growing tensions might become to the other Autobots. "For the sake of all involved, I hope the two of you will find a way to get along." Eyes and optics rolled nearly in unison "As this will also make Breakdown your guardian."

"I have a car."

"Good, then you can drive it home tonight." Breakdown replied "Because I'm not leaving until he does."

Optimus nodded in understanding, placing a hand upon Breakdown's shoulder. The mech looked at his newfound leader nervously, unsure of why he seemed so... Okay with this. Was it really the fact that Optimus was as kind and accepting as many stories told? Only time would tell. "I understand your wishes completely." He then added "For now, however, lets work to give you a faction symbol, and disconnect your comms from those of the Decepticons." He explained "So that we can begin your probation process."

Breakdown frowned, that would mean it would be the first time since joining the Decepticons he had no comm link to Knock Out. For a moment, he wondered if he could truly push away his best friend like that, if he could go through with it. Yet he also knew he had made his choice. This was his faction now and he couldn't risk it. He'd made his choice, and now he'd have to live with it. "Thank you, sir." He spoke up "I promise not to let you down."

And by the look in Optimus's optics, it was obvious that he believed his words.

...

Fowler could not hold back the urge to go and see Tyler before he left that night. After all, this was going to be his foster son for the next eight months. And more importantly, he wanted to make sure the boy really was okay. When he entered the med bay, he found the boy sound asleep in his bed, snoring lightly and shifting every so often. If his battered, yet healing form had not been present, Fowler may have smiled. But there was nothing to smile when it came to Tyler right now, if nothing else, seeing him in person made him angrier.

Another thing he couldn't help but wonder was what he was getting himself into. The boy had been a victim of severe abuse, he was sure to come with many trust issues, he was going to need counseling and attention. He'd had foster kids before his wife had left with his daughter, but there had been no cases that were this severe. Usually they even returned to their families after a while in those cases. But even so, he couldn't turn the kid down. Even he accepted it wasn't right to separate Tyler from the one person he was able to truly trust.

"He has a difficult life ahead of him." Ratchet commented as he stepped up beside Fowler "You're a braver man than most agreeing to this, Agent Fowler." He tilted his head a bit "Are you sure you can actually handle the pressure?"

"I work with you guys, don't I?" Fowler joked "Besides, it's only eight months." He stepped towards Tyler, and peered down at him "I can handle a good kid like this for that long." He paused a moment "I just hope that I'll be good for him. Not the other way around." He looked up at the medic slowly "I've been out of practice with kids ever since..." He didn't finish the sentence.

"I'm sure you'll be fine for one another." Ratchet replied "But it's like I said, you are a braver man than most. And I can already tell you it won't be a "walk in the park" as you humans tend to put it." He explained "But I've seen your capacity as a human being. I believe the two of you will be better for each other than you might suspect."

Fowler didn't know how to reply to that, even if Ratchet's instincts were usually sound. He nodded his head, and set a hand on the boys head, running it along the scars on his face. He left it there for a moment before removing it, and turning towards Ratchet. "I should get going. I'll fill him in in the morning." He started off past Ratchet "Kid's had to take in enough for one night. Or a lifetime really."

"I concur." Ratchet nodded "Goodnight Agent Fowler."

Fowler nodded his head and started out the door. At this point, he could only hope that Breakdown would prove himself trustworthy. Otherwise it was going to be a _long _eight months.

...

A/N: Yeah, I'm going to touch upon the divorce Fowler mentioned in "Plus One", or at least learn a little more about it. Hoping to add a little depth to his character through that. :)


	11. Adjusting

**CHAPTER 11  
Adjusting**

From past experiences, Tyler was not prepared for the warm feeling he was given as he took his first steps into Fowler's home. It wasn't as big as he expected from a government official either. It was a nice, modest two story home that seemed clean and far from a bachelor pad like Brody's home had seemed to be. As he took it all in, Tyler clutched his backpack to his chest, nerves falling over him. "You were expecting something bigger?" Tyler turned towards his newfound guardian slowly as Fowler stepped up beside him "Nah, not my style. I never grew up with a lot growing up, never really cared for anything big or fancy."

Tyler avoided Fowler's hand as he reached to set on his shoulder. It wasn't that he didn't want to trust the man, far from it actually. He'd been kind to him when they'd first met and he seemed to be continuing to be a good guy. But the fact of the matter was it could all be an act, he could be just as bad as Brody, and Tyler was not taking those chances, not yet. "So which closet did you make my bedroom?" Tyler asked, causing Fowler's brow to furrow in response "What? If you don't have a walk-in one that's okay. I can handle sleeping on the floor." He explained.

"You're not sleeping in any closet." Fowler replied calmly "You're going to sleep in what used to be my guest room. Guess it's yours now." He explained, carefully pulling Tyler's duffle bag, he sighed quietly "It's going to be different here with me, Tyler. I don't treat my kids like that." He added firmly.

Tyler nodded his head in response, though he wasn't sure whether or not it was a lie. He'd have to make sure that he never let his guard down,just in case Fowler was testing him, he decided. He shakily followed Fowler further in the home as he was gestured forward. He was quiet as he eyed the remainder of the home, there were a lot of pictures, mostly of Fowler and his family. There were a few of him, a woman, and a small girl, but given there'd been no mention of a wife or daughter, he said nothing.

"Bill?" Fowler turned his head towards Tyler quietly "Do you care if I keep the light on in my room at night? I just wanted to know ahead of time." He explained "I uh... I don't like sleeping in the dark."

Fowler raised an eyebrow, surprised by the question, but shook his head in response. "Why would you want to though? Isn't it pretty hard to sleep with the light shining in your face?" Tyler stared down, unwilling to explain about the closet that caused his fear of the dark "Alright, I guess you've got your reasons. I don't mind it, just be sure to close your door because you're right across from me, okay?" Tyler nodded his head a bit "Anyways, here we are."

As Fowler opened the door, it was clear that he had prepared for him. It looked like a typical thirteen year old's room, with some plain blankets and sheets, a desk in the corner, some bookshelves, and to Tyler's surprise, a television on the wall. Tyler had never had this much in his life, and he couldn't help but smile as a result. "All this is really mine?" Tyler asked, Fowler nodded in response "Wow, I uh... I don't know what to say." He muttered "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Fowler spoke up "I should let you get settled and everything. Your social worker will be here soon and I need to finish up the paperwork and all." He carefully set down Tyler's duffle bag, which he had been carrying "If you need anything I'm just an intercom away." He pointed towards the intercom attached to the wall "I'll give you the grand tour once we've figured everything out downstairs."

Tyler only nodded a bit as Fowler exited the room. He slowly began to unpack, though he only had a few things, it still took some time to find where they went in the larger room. Once he'd finished, he nearly jumped out of his skin upon finding Breakdown at the window. Tyler took a deep breath, reminding himself of the fact that Fowler lived a small distance out of Jasper, and isolated enough that it allowed Breakdown room to transform freely. "So far, so good?" Breakdown questioned, Tyler nodded slowly "Good. So I won't have to have a talk with the man after all."

"He seems nice." Tyler replied "I mean, he was nice to me all week. And he took me in."

Breakdown would have reminded him that it was only because of his probation he was even there. After all, why ruin the only loving home that Tyler had had for years? For now, he was living with a good person and that was what mattered to him. "Yeah, I guess you have a point." Breakdown nodded "Listen, kid, I'm gonna be heading out in a minute here. Prime wants me back at base for a debriefing." He paused "You gonna be okay without me for a couple of hours?"

Tyler wasn't sure how to answer. Though Fowler seemed nice, would that all change once he was out of Breakdown's presence? Yet he also knew that Breakdown had to follow Optimus's orders. If they had any hope of convincing the Autobots of Breakdown's change of spark, he had to continually assert his loyalty as best as he could. "I'll be fine, Breakdown." He finally replied "If anything goes wrong, I have the comm, right?" Breakdown nodded and started to turn when the boy spoke again "Break?" Breakdown turned his head "How do I act around him when you're gone? I mean... What if he does get angry like Brody did?"

Breakdown was silent, and shook his head a bit. "Be yourself. If Fowler can't like you for who you are, that's his problem." Breakdown asserted "Get to know him, learn the rules, let him show you around." He smiled a bit "I have faith in ye, kid. You can handle this just fine."

"Alright." Tyler gulped "One more thing." Tyler eyed the Autobot shield that now adorned his left shoulder "It looks good on you."

Breakdown eyed the shield too, and grinned a bit. He had to admit, he thought it looked good too. And oddly enough, a part of him also thought that it felt just right. "Catch ye later, short stack." He told him calmly "You can fill me in on the first day once I'm home."

Watching as Breakdown transformed and drove off, Tyler sighed. Even if he was nervous, he knew that he had to go downstairs and try his best. Maybe Breakdown was right, and if he was himself, Fowler would like him. But he'd never know unless he tried.

...

Tyler arrived downstairs for dinner later that night just as a half-cooked pancake splattered on top of Fowler's head. The government official grumbled and groaned, attempting to wipe it from his face as Tyler couldn't help but chuckle. "I am _so _out of practice." Fowler groaned "Last time I had a kid in the house was probably two years ago." He explained "I'm pretty used to cooking for one by now." He then added "I hope you don't mind breakfast for dinner."

Tyler nodded his head a bit, but continued his light laughter. "It's okay, really. You didn't have to cook me anything." Tyler replied "I can go a day without eating dinner." He explained.

Fowler shook his head, and growled under his breath. For a moment, Tyler wondered if he had said the wrong thing, but Fowler made no move to hurt him in any way, which was a good sign. "I'm not going to not feed you, kid." Fowler reassured "You should know by now that none of what your uncle did was okay. So it would be even worse for me to do it." He added.

Tyler shrugged, unsure if that was totally the truth yet. After all, he had not known what it was like to be treated in any other way. And the idea that someone was willing to actually go out of their way and feed him every day seemed... Odd. He took a seat at the table as Fowler slid a plate of pancakes across to him. "So, tell me." Fowler began as he sat across from him "Anything I should know about before we dive head-first into this thing?"

Tyler was thoughtful, unsure of what to say in response. "I uh... I'm allergic to peanuts." Tyler began "I guess other than that, no." He shook his head slowly "I don't think there's anything you really have to worry about besides that." He bit into a pancake and chewed it up calmly "I'm not really that interesting." He mused "Uncle Brody used to say I was boring and lifeless."

"I'm sure _that's _not true." Fowler replied "Would a boring kid have made friends with a Decepticon?"

Tyler had to grin a little at that, knowing that Fowler made a good point. He shrugged his shoulders, and slouched a little, thinking over his hobbies and interests. Despite what little time he had had for them, he did have some. Enough that kept him at least semi-occupied in Brody's house. "I like to read." Tyler began "And draw. My teachers same I'm a really good artist. But I don't get a lot of practice." He admitted.

Fowler nodded his head a bit. "You'll have to show me some time. We can grab you a sketchpad or something, that's not going to be an issue." Fowler shrugged "You know, you can talk more too. You don't need to be so timid or shy." He shook his head "I know you're coming out of a place where you didn't have a lot of freedom. But I want you to know that's going to stop now." He shook his head "You can say and do what you want so long as you don't get in trouble with anyone else."

"Okay." Tyler nodded, finishing off his second pancake "Bill?" Fowler looked up again "I'm sorry you got stuck with me either way. I know it's just because Breakdown's on probation and all." He paused a moment "I know you probably didn't want either of us here."

Fowler was silent, staring at the boy. He truly was smarter than his years suggested, and observant as well. Smiling a little, he shook his head, keeping his composure. Though he hadn't wanted to do it initially, it wasn't as though he minded. So far, Tyler seemed like a good, albeit timid kid, and he hoped that he could help him if nothing else. "No need to apologize. It'll take getting used to, but I'm sure we're gonna become good friends." Fowler explained "Breakdown on the other hand..."

"He's a good guy, Bill."

Fowler knew that Tyler meant what he said, and sighed quietly. He could only hope that Tyler was right, after all, he didn't know the ex-Decepticon well. Maybe the change was genuine, maybe it wasn't and he had Tyler under his "spell". But either way, Fowler would know eventually, after all, it was partly his job to find out. "I hope you're right, kid." Fowler stated "That video of him fighting to protect you does make him seem like one."

"I could've died if he didn't." Tyler explained "A bad person doesn't save people like that, do they?" He asked.

Fowler didn't have an answer for that either, he simply smiled and nodded. After all, for now he could let the kid think that. There was no reason yet for them not to believe that he was at least capable of being a good person. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Fowler replied "You full?" Tyler nodded as the man picked up his empty plate.

As Fowler turned around, Tyler took a couple of apples from a nearby fruit basket, slowly slipping them into his pocket. After all, it didn't hurt to make sure that he had food on the off-chance Fowler forgot to feed him. "I'm gonna go back to my room." Tyler nodded "Thanks for dinner."

"Go ahead, I can clean up."

Fowler watched as the boy hesitated a moment, then rushed out of the room. He sighed quietly, running a hand through his hair. He could already tell that this was going to be one _long_ eight months.

...

Breakdown sighed as he pulled back up to the Fowler home. It was later at night than he had expected, and he only hoped that Tyler was okay. Had his first day in the home gone well? He had a feeling it had, yet he couldn't help but transform almost at once and move towards the window. Inside, Tyler had been laying on his bed, looking tired and groggy. Breakdown tapped the glass a bit, catching Tyler's attention quickly enough that the boy opened the door almost immediately. "Man, I'm beat." Breakdown groaned "That meeting seemed to last forever." He stared at him "Thought I'd check in and see how today went before we both caught some z's."

Taking a bite of one of the apples he had collected, Tyler smiled sheepishly. Breakdown knew that the boy was happy to have someone who cared enough to ask, ad simply kept a calm smile in order to get the truth. "Bill's cool." Tyler admitted "He said he'd get me a sketch pad. And he promised that he'd feed me every day." He paused "I think that's a start."

"Better than before, that's for sure." Breakdown snorted.

"How'd things go with the 'Bots?"

Breakdown wished he could have had equally good news in response to Tyler's. Yet even Tyler knew enough that he'd recognize a lie when he heard one. He shrugged his shoulders, and took a deep breath. "Things are still shaky between us." He admitted calmly "But I think it'll get better with time." He stared at Tyler "I think we both have pretty equally long roads ahead of us."

"I'm sorry I talked you into this." Tyler explained "I thought they'd accept you right away."

Breakdown smiled shaking his head at the boy's naivety. He knew that he would learn in time that it never worked that way, but for now, he simply patted the boy on the head. "The road to redemption is NEVER that easy." Breakdown explained "But I think that we're both going to get through the tough times pretty easily." He nodded his head "At least we're not in our previous situations."

"Yeah, I guess." Tyler yawned.

"I'll let you get to recharge." Breakdown replied "Goodnight kid."

"Goodnight Breakdown."

As Breakdown moved from the window with a sigh of relief, he transformed down. One day down, and several more to go. He could only quietly hope that his own words were true, and that they'd ultimately make it through the rough times. Though if anything, at least Tyler had a good start on that. Now it was his job to make sure he had a good start too. As he fell deep into recharge, he kept those good thoughts and hopes in the back of his head. He was probably going to need them._  
_

...

A/N: I know, this was more Tyler and Fowler-centric with only a little Breakdown, but I wanted to show the start of Tyler's transition into Fowler's home. :) We'll get Breakdown adjusting to Autobot status next chapter. :) Anyways, reviews, as always, make my day! :)


	12. Uneasiness

A/N: Another thing I'll be adding to starts in this chapter. The back-story of Bulkhead and Breakdown. I hope to give my own version of events as to why they are such sworn enemies here, and I hope I'll be able to portray a good and believable story to that.

...

**CHAPTER 12  
Uneasiness**

The next day, Tyler allowed Breakdown to bring him to the Autobot base. Tyler had spent enough time there, yet Fowler was working that day, and it was definitely more appealing to the young boy than staying home alone. Instead, he'd allowed himself to be settled onto the former Decepticon's shoulder and joined the Autobots once again at the base. It was the first time, however, that he got a good look at it. Given the fact that he had been bed-ridden for the week he had even been there.

Breakdown let his young companion take in the scope of the base a moment before heading towards the main area of the base. As usual, he found the other Autobots deep into conversation. It was clear that the other kids were not around yet, given it was a school day (but as Tyler was still recovering, he still had been given a little respite), and sighed. He silently hoped they'd show up later on, given Tyler had yet to get to meet them, and he felt that he needed more friends outside of him. Carefully setting the boy on the ground after a moment, he watched as Tyler rushed over.

"Hey! Look who's finally up and moving." Breakdown groaned at the sound of Bulkhead's voice "What's up, shorty?"

Breakdown had nearly forgotten that Tyler and Bulkhead had hit it off. Most of the Autobots came around to keep him company at different times while he was recovering in the med bay. And for some odd reason, Tyler had liked hanging out with the one that might have been the biggest and most imposing of them all, aside from him now. Let alone the fact that he had decided to befriend his greatest rival, if nothing else. "Not much, Bulkhead." Tyler replied as Breakdown approached cautiously "Breakdown said I could tag along since Bill's at work right now. So here I am." He added.

Bulkhead grimaced slightly at the mention of Breakdown, something the former Decepticon returned. "Yeah, well, you're not going to have much time around the two of us." Bulkhead looked up at Breakdown slowly "We have patrol together." That time, Breakdown could only inwardly groan at the thought "I bet Bee wouldn't mind going for a round of video games with ye though."

"Awesome!" Tyler started to jog off towards the yellow and black scout "Hey Bee!"

As he watched Tyler go over to interact with the young Autobot he slowly smiled. Even if it was weird to see Tyler around the Autobots, or befriending his rival, he was thankful of one thing. The fact that despite their troubled past, they were at least treating Tyler with kindness. "So, patrol together, eh?" Breakdown titled his head to one side "Whose bright idea was that one?"

"Prime thinks we need to learn to "get along"." Bulkhead grunted at it "So we're both just going to have to grin and bear it." His optics narrowed a bit "Just know I've got my optics on you, Breakdown." He paused "You might have Optimus fooled, but I'm still not convinced you've really had a change of spark." He started towards the door, allowing Breakdown to follow him.

Breakdown paused a moment, and shook his head. "We grew up together, and you still don't think I could have a "good" side?" Bulkhead stopped in his tracks, and turned to stare at Breakdown silently "Like it or not, Bulkhead, I'm an Autobot now, not a prisoner, not a Decepticon. An Autobot." He stared forward and stood beside Bulkhead slowly "The sooner we put what happened to us after the youth sector behind us, the better."

Bulkhead was silent at that, as if Breakdown had made a good point, and he was trying to process it. But then again, _a lot_ had happened since they grew up together in the youth sector orphanage in Iacon. "If you want me to forgive you, you have to earn it." Bulkhead told him bluntly "Don't forget, I'm not the one who betrayed _you_." He added "Now, come on. Let's get this over with."

Breakdown watched as Bulkhead transformed down and tore out of the base. He frowned quietly, betrayal was such a strong word, he thought. He had made his choice, and Bulkhead had made his. Yet he also knew that it was very clear that Bulkhead had been hurt by him, a fact which made the outward hatred he felt for him have more reason. _This is going to be a long patrol._ He thought bitterly as he himself transformed and tore out of the base.

As it turned out, patrol was about as dull for the Autobots as it was for the Decepticons. About an hour into it, he and Bulkhead had merely driven around in what seemed to be circles. Yet something seemed outwardly wrong to Breakdown, the Decepticons were never quiet. There was almost always a vehicon or two searching the Nevada desert for any sign of the base if nothing else. "Something doesn't feel right." Breakdown stated as he finally transformed into his bipedal form "It's way too quiet out here. Especially given it's what the humans call a "school day" and you guys are usually out picking the kids."

Bulkhead transformed a moment, turning his head towards Breakdown. "What the frag is that supposed to mean?" He questioned "Are you trying to tell me that we're always being watched?"

"Megatron likes to send Vehicons out." Breakdown turned his head "He's constantly looking for your base." Bulkhead's optics widened "Don't worry, they've never found you guys." He shook his head "But the point is, if it's this quiet out here. That means that they're doing something else." He paused "And that's usually never good for your side."

Bulkhead nodded his head, grimacing a bit. "You don't think..."

"Get down."

Bulkhead ducked slightly as breakdown blasted a hole through a Vehicon that had come out from the side. Immediately, both were back-to-back, blasters out and at the ready. Several Vehicons had surrounded them now, coming seemingly out of nowhere. "Told you it was too quiet." Breakdown replied "There's probably an Energon mine nearby." He explained.

"You take the five on the left. I'll take the five on the-."

Breakdown didn't wait for Bulkhead to finish, rather, he swung his arm forward and smashed a Vehicon to the ground. The Vehicons swarmed them as Breakdown fired off shot after shot, hitting the drones in several different areas of their body. He groaned as a blast hit his shoulder, but turned quickly to the Vehicon, which had Bulkhead pinned to the ground. He fired a single shot to the head, offlining it quickly. "You okay!?" Breakdown shouted.

Bulkhead fired off a blast at the last of the Vehicons, sending it collapsing to the ground. "I could have handled that myself." Bulkhead groaned "Thanks for the save. But next time, why don't you wait to hear the REST of the plan?" He shook his head a bit "You could have got us both scrapped." He added.

"You know me, plans aren't typically my style." Breakdown shrugged, he kicked a Vehicon corpse aside "Think we should go take care of the Energon mine too? Or is that enough excitement for one day?"

"We should report this back to Prime." Bulkhead replied "He'll want us all to handle it together."

Breakdown stared at Bulkhead thoughtfully, not understanding the line in logic. With the Decepticons, they did everything in pairs, rather than as a group. Yet the Autobots, as he had noticed, did the exact opposite. They worked as a team and it surprised him a great deal. "Right, the big guy will want to know." He nodded his head "But first."

He fired a blast right to the head of each Vehicon. Bulkhead leaped back a bit, surprised. "Now they can't send any more last minute transmissions to Megatron or the mine." He explained calmly "They can alert each other to our presence. And the last thing we want is for that to happen, trust me." He explained politely "Now, lets get going."

Bulkhead stared at Breakdown, then at the corpses. For a minute, he realized that Breakdown could have left their processors in-tact. Could have easily betrayed them all right there and then, yet he hadn't. For a moment, he questioned if Tyler was right about Breakdown, maybe he had started to shane, no matter how hard it was to believe. "You know..." Breakdown turned his head towards Bulkhead quietly "We might just make a great Autobot out of you yet."

Breakdown smirked a bit, nodding his head. "And who knows, maybe there might just be enough of what we have to save yet." Breakdown replied.

Bulkhead frowned at that, as if he had suggested the impossible. "I wouldn't take it _that _far, Breakdown." Bulkhead started off "It doesn't matter if you earn my respect as a teammate." He looked at him "It's going to be a long time before you even have a shot at earning back my friendship."

Breakdown merely frowned at the response as they both transformed down, and took off. He knew that Bulkhead was right, there was too much bad blood between the two of them to rekindle a friendship. Especially given he still was not sure he _wanted_ Bulkhead's friendship back. Yet only time would tell if he would end up earning it back anyway.

...

Fowler entered the Autobot base calmly, carrying several papers under his shoulder. It had been a long meeting with his superiors that day, and for once, he was more than glad to be back at his main work place. "Aw come on, Bee! I'm new at these things, take it easy." Fowler turned his head and looked up towards the "game area" the kids usually occupied, finding Tyler on one of the couches with a controller in his hands "I still don't understand how I can turn the car around."

Fowler smirked, and chuckled a little, thankful to hear Tyler acting more like a kid. He shook his head slowly as a series of "beeps" and "boops" responded to Tyler calmly. "Tyler, give Bumblebee a break." Fowler called out "The last thing I need this morning is for you two to be arguing."

Tyler nodded his head from up above, quickly returning to his game with Bumblebee. Even though Fowler was sure it was more out of fear of him than anything, he was thankful that Tyler was pretty good about listening to him. "Agent Fowler." Fowler turned his head as a newly arrived Breakdown stepped up behind him "Can we talk?" He asked.

Fowler didn't much feel like talking, but he knew he didn't have much of a choice. Fowler sighed a bit, looking up at Breakdown slightly. "I've got some time to talk, but I really have to meet with Optimus sooner rather than later." Fowler shook his head "Do you think this can wait until tonight when we're all home?" He questioned.

"It won't take long." Breakdown replied "I just wanted to make sure he seemed okay to you last night."

Fowler looked up at Breakdown in surprise. After all, he hadn't quite expected Breakdown to come to him, he'd expected the mech to go to Tyler. And that was already something that, according to what Tyler had said that morning, had happened the night before. "He's doing fine, I guess." Fowler shrugged his shoulders "Though when I checked on him last night. I realized he had hoarded some food in his bedroom. Not sure what to make of that." He paused "But otherwise, nothing too out-of-the-ordinary."

"Is that normal for humans coming out of his situation?" Breakdown questioned.

Fowler searched the recesses of his mind for the answer to that. After all, he had had a long talk with Tyler's social worker of possible side-effects of any PTSD, or other symptoms, he may have had. "Well, Brody left him without food for days. So I guess it's an impulse." Fowler nodded his head a bit "I left the food where it is, but if he keeps it up, I'm going to have a one-on-one talk to him about it." He paused a moment "I've handled foster kids before, Breakdown. You don't have to worry about me hurting him or anything."

Breakdown didn't look too certain on whether he could trust the man's sentiments. After all, if nothing else, he had only seen the evil in adult humans thus far. From Silas, from Brody, and between the two of them he had good reasons to worry about Fowler himself. "I understand you have done it before, and that you're doing a good job of it now." Breakdown replied "But that doesn't mean I'm taking my optic off you." He added "So _keep_ doing a good job."

The way Breakdown asserted his point made a chill run up Fowler's spine. Yet he also knew that he wasn't about to turn into a bad person overnight, so in hind sight, he didn't have a reason to worry. "Heh, heh. Yeah, I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Fowler nodded with a chuckle "Now if you don't mind, I really have to meet with Prime."

"Can't." Breakdown replied "Bulkhead's in there giving a status report. We may be rolling out soon."

"It's always something, isn't it?"

Breakdown chuckled lightly at the look of pure annoyance that Fowler adopted on his face. Yet he only shook his head, and put his hands on his hips. "You need to loosen up." Breakdown commented "I've been your guardian for two days and you're already the world's biggest buzzkill." He waved Fowler off "I'm sure that whatever you have to tell Prime can wait."

If looks could kill, Breakdown would have been a fiery pile of ash."You see, that's the problem with you. I want to like you, but then you make comments like _that_." Fowler groaned "I'll have you know that taking my job seriously is not something to be ashamed of." He asserted bluntly "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go debrief Prime on the intell I just got for him, like it or not."

As Fowler made his way past the former Decepticon, mumbling and cursing, Breakdown rolled his optic. If he didn't like his sarcastic comments, he had his doubts that he and Fowler would ever find a way to truly "get along". "Hey Breakdown!" The mech turned his head towards Tyler as his voice sounded out "Come on, play a round with us before you guys head out." Tyler commented "We'll teach ye!"

Breakdown looked thoughtfully at the television screen, tempted to join in. After all, Bumblebee had been one of the few Autobots to be friendly to him, and it _did_ look fun. A grin slowly formed on his face, and he nodded his head a little. "Eh, why not? With the rage Fowler's liable to go on, I've got the time." He shrugged "Just don't take it easy on me, I like a challenge."

Unlike Fowler, Breakdown was going to enjoy down time after the day, and week, he'd had.


	13. Progression and Loyalty

**CHAPTER 13  
Progression and Loyalty**

The first time Tyler screamed in his sleep, neither Breakdown, nor Fowler saw it coming. A millisecond later, Breakdown was in bipedal form, prepared for whatever had attacked. Yet he quickly found that there was nothing, and no one in sight. Just the chilled night air and silence that left him at first wondering if he had been hearing things. He turned quietly to see Tyler was sitting bolt upright in his bed in a cold sweat, and immediately tapped open the window. "Ty, Ty, it's aright kid." Breakdown blinked "What are you screaming about? There's no one even around."

Tyler hugged his legs to his chest as Fowler rushed in less than a minute later. "What happened?" Fowler immediately locked eyes with Breakdown.

Breakdown wasn't sure how to answer it, given that recharge for Cybertronians was dreamless. It was difficult for him to gather what could have happened to Tyler during the duration of his recharge. After all, no one seemed to be inside, or otherwise. "I don't know. One minute he was recharging just fine and the next." Breakdown peered down at Tyler "He was screaming."

Fowler frowned, yet calmly seated himself on the edge of the bed. "Nightmare, huh?" Fowler questioned, Tyler simply nodded his head much to Breakdown's confusion "You know nightmare's aren't real, Tyler. No one's going to hurt you." He looked up at Breakdown with a firm look to his eyes "Breakdown and I are both going to make sure of that, alright?"

"I-It was just too real." Tyler muttered "I thought... I thought it _was_ real."

"Nightmare"? What was a "nightmare"? The search that Breakdown did on the subject left him with more questions than answers. Yet he simply looked down at Tyler and nodded his head slowly. "Kid, no one's gonna hurt you with me outside your window." Breakdown explained "Whatever has you so spooked won't know what hit them if they threaten you." He leaned over him slightly "You don't need to loose recharge over anything."

Breakdown watched as Tyler's body slowly relaxed and his breathing slowed. Tyler stared down at the mattress slowly, taking a deep breath. "I just... I thought he was on top of me again. Roger..." Tyler paused a moment, his eyes stared directly into Fowler's "You said they found him and put him in jail too, right?" Fowler nodded his head "So he's not still out there...?" He questioned.

It was then that Fowler did something that surprised Breakdown. With slight hesitation, he pulled an arm around Tyler, and shook his head. Though Tyler squirmed a bit, realization soon hit the boy that it was meant as comfort and relaxed. "Nope. Neither of them are out there." He began calmly "The only people here are the two of us and the big guy." He explained "I promise."

Tyler leaned into the light embrace, and nodded his head slowly. Breakdown was silent for a moment. "If it makes you feel safer, I'll even stay in my bipedal form the rest of the night." Breakdown told him "No one's gonna get through this wall. Not even Megatron himself." Tyler nodded his head slowly in response "Alright then, it's the night shift for me."

Tyler slowly shrugged Fowler's arm off, and started to lay down again. As the government agent started for the door and Breakdown, still confused, closed the window, Tyler looked at Fowler. "Bill?" Fowler turned his head to look at his charge "Thanks... Thanks for caring." He managed "No one's ever done something like that since my..." He stared down "Well, thanks."

Fowler smiled and nodded his head. "Any time kid."

Breakdown watched quietly as Tyler slowly fell back into a deep sleep. No more than ten minutes later, Fowler had stepped out of the home, his eyes staring up towards the large mech. "You're really going to stay up all night?" Breakdown nodded his head "Isn't that bad for you guys? You need the recharge and all to keep your systems-."

"I can go three days without recharge." Breakdown replied "And besides, it doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is that _he _feels safe." He nodded his head towards Tyler for emphasis "Contrary to what you guys believe. I care about what happens to that kid. Mentally and physically." He explained bluntly "If my loosing a little recharge means he can "sleep" soundly then it's whatever."

For a moment, Fowler waited to see if he would reveal himself to be joking. But it was quickly clear that Breakdown was very serious. It was the first time that, at least in person, he'd seen Breakdown truly show that much protectiveness. And to be honest, Fowler couldn't help but feel a little stunned. It reminded him a little of Raf and Bumblebee, and the bond they had made more than he had expected it to. "It's a good thing you're doing. You guys have it lucky with your recharge from what I know." Fowler explained "Sometimes when we have nightmares like that, we have to relive the worst parts of our life."

Breakdown stared down at him, shaking his head a little bit. It disturbed him to think that Tyler might have to relive the things Brody did to him more than he would have liked. He wished that it was as easy for him as it was for Cybertronians, he could zone out the world that way. But of course, in some ways they were very similar, while in others beyond different. "I'm glad he has you then." Breakdown told him calmly "The way you handled that in there... It seemed like you'd done this before."

"My daughter had nightmares too." Fowler replied "I've had lots of practice."

Breakdown nodded his head. "You had a daughter? I knew about the ex-wife, not about the kid." Breakdown stared down at him "Where's she at?"

Fowler's brow furrowed, and Breakdown had a feeling he shouldn't have brought up the question. Fowler simply sighed, and turned to head back into the house. "With her mom." He paused a moment "I need to sleep myself, so... I'll see you in the morning I guess." He turned to Breakdown "If you need to recharge, I'm sure he won't notice."

Yet even as he made his way to his bedroom, Fowler could see the mech standing outside. He felt a smile tug at his lips, and for the first time, considered the fact that Breakdown really _wasn't _such a bad guy after all.

...

"Finally, some time alone."

Tyler smiled as Breakdown stretched his limbs carefully. Breakdown had been given a bit of respite that morning, and had taken Tyler for a little bit of a treat. Namely, he'd taken him through the Ground Bridge and as far away from Jasper as they could get. Namely, he took him to Greece, where he had visited once before and admittedly found great beauty. "This is my first time out of Nevada." Tyler muttered "Are you sure I'm okay to be here without a passport?" He questioned.

Breakdown chuckled lightly at Tyler's questioning. "Who cares? We're on a mostly uninhabited island over here anyway." He shook his head "There's no way we'll get caught as long as we don't go near a populated island." He explained "So relax, take in the beach." He grinned a bit "You're away from the craziness until Ratchet opens a new bridge in two hours."

Tyler smiled, and nodded his head. "Things have gotten pretty nuts, haven't they?" Breakdown nodded in response "I still can't believe you really joined the Autobots." Tyler kicked some sand up "Or that uncle Brody's really gone." He paused quietly "I never thought that'd happen."

Breakdown was silent, frankly, he had doubted either would happen either. Yet there they still were, living this almost bizarre reality that had now become both of their lives. And to tell the truth, the mech wasn't even sure that he'd ever totally get "used" to the change, therefore, he simply accepted the strangeness of all of it. "I think things changed for the better, really." Breakdown crossed his arms and stared down at him "How are you feeling about it all?"

Tyler was silent, knowing that it was a good question. Not many people had asked him how he was adjusting, yet he knew that there was a clear answer to that. "They're all great." Tyler explained "I like getting to be around people who aren't just... The people that Brody hung around." He looked out at the ocean "It feels nice to be treated like I actually matter, y'know?"

Breakdown frowned at the fact that Tyler didn't think he mattered before. Yet he couldn't blame him, the way Brody treated him, of course he would feel that way. Taking a seat beside Tyler on the beach, he leaned back and looked at him. "I could tell." Breakdown replied "Last night was the first time I'd seen you let any human comfort you like that."

Tyler was silent, but he nodded in response to Breakdown's point. He'd never trusted an adult to touch him without violence following, but with Fowler, the touch had felt safe. Like he instinctively knew that the man wasn't going to hurt him. Which was something that Tyler was still trying to grasp to the best of his ability. "Because I knew he meant it." Tyler admitted finally "He didn't try to force it on me or anything. He just... Offered it."

Breakdown nodded, knowing that that would definitely make a difference. He sighed calmly, setting a hand on the sand, and looked at Tyler. "That's a good thing, the whole trust issue." Breakdown explained calmly "The more you get used to that... The easier it will be when we find you a permanent family to stay with." He noted.

The mention of finding a new family for him made Tyler nervous. With Fowler, he had already been on good terms with him when he'd come to his house. But a whole new family, the idea actually scared him. What if they weren't like Fowler or Breakdown? Would the Autobots let him go to a house where it'd be a lot more of the same abuse? He shuddered at the thought, even though he had a good feeling that they wouldn't. "I hope so." Tyler finally spoke up "Really, I just hope that they'll like me."

"You're a likable little runt." Breakdown poked his side gently "You've got nothing to worry about in that department."

Tyler smiled, hoping inside that Breakdown was right. Because deep down, even with his fears still being around, he wanted to have a family. He wanted to know what it was like to have one as he could hardly remember what it was like as a small child. "You're going to stick with me when that happens, right?" Tyler questioned "Even with the whole Autobot thing going on?"

"Yeah." Breakdown nodded "It's you and me to the end, bud. And that's a promise."

As Breakdown held his fist out for a fist bump, Tyler slowly returned it, smiling. It made him feel good that through all the hard times, and good ones, he'd have Breakdown around. If nothing else, it let him knows that he would not have to be afraid of how a family treated him. After all, he had a feeling Breakdown would stomp on any family that did anything close to what Brody did. "Breakdown?" Breakdown turned his head again "Thanks."

"What for this time?"

Tyler paused a moment. "For just sticking by me." Breakdown's optic ridges arched in surprise "What?"

"You ever think I wouldn't?"

Tyler smirked, leaning against the mech's armored leg. The former Decepticon did make a good point, given he had never seemed interested in "ditching" him. And he knew that in Breakdown, he, at least in theory, would have a friend for life. And from the corner of his eye, he could see as Breakdown smiled down at him still, reassuring him further that it was a very true statement.

...

A/N: I know this chapter was shorter. I just wanted some relationship development moreso here. Next chapter, I'm hoping to finally get a meeting between Tyler and the main "kids" of the Prime series in. :) Anyways, reviews make my day as always. :)


	14. A First Meeting

A/N: Rather than stuff the meeting all into one single chapter. I decided to split up his meetings with Jack, Raf, and Miko into parts of three different chapters. Interaction by all of them will follow afterwards at times, of course.

...

**CHAPTER 14  
A First Meeting**

"Why would they want Tyler to testify at their trial?"

Fowler rubbed his eyes a bit, frustrated about it himself as he stared up at Breakdown. He had only been told the information by the attorney they had hired to represent Tyler an hour ago. But to tell the truth, he was frustrated by the prospect as well. "If we're going to put Brody and Roger behind bars permanently, he needs to either give it, or have one read." Fowler explained "You gotta understand, the charges against the two of them are major. Brody's especially, but Roger's is going on trial for attempted sexual assault of a minor. That's a _beyond _disgusting crime to us humans."

"It is to us too." Breakdown grunted "But making Tyler reaccount everything is demeaning. The man nearly raped him and they want him to go before a jury and talk about it?" He questioned "Who does that to a sparkling?"

Fowler shook his head a bit, taking a deep breath. He didn't like the idea of putting Tyler in front of the court and repeating everything. If nothing else, it would put the boy through far more than he should have to go through. "You think I like the idea, Breakdown?" Fowler questioned "I care about him too. I don't want him to go up there. But in a case like this we really don't have any other options." He paused "Even if someone else gave the testimony someone in that jury could call "plausible deniability"." He shook his head "And we can't let those freaks go free."

Breakdown shuddered, knowing that much was very much true. He refused to let the men go free to do to more children what they did, and attempted to do, to Tyler. He was more than positive that Roger had likely already done it to several more kids, and he hated the thought of that alone. "If it puts them behind bars, then I guess it makes sense." Breakdown groaned "But what happens if it hurts him?"

Fowler turned towards Tyler, who was hanging out with Ratchet a small distance away. He didn't know how to answer that question, he hadn't handled something _this _serious before. And to be frank, it was going to be difficult for him to determine. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Fowler decided as he spoke up "I guess we'll have to just try and be there for him." He explained "He'll probably need the moral support."

Breakdown nodded solemnly, taking it in. Though he didn't have a long time to think it over, as moments later a sound he found rather annoying sounded out. "Ugh! Finally! Friday!" Miko's voice sounded out as she stepped out of the newly arrived Bulkhead "I swear, mid-terms are the _worst_, Bulkhead." The young Japanese woman turned her head as Bulkhead transformed "Next year, you're totally going to help me bail out."

"You know I can't do that."

"Doesn't mean you won't."

Bulkhead sighed, rubbing the back of his helm as Miko turned her head towards where Tyler was standing. She blinked, confusion in her eyes as she looked at him. "Uh, when did we invite a fourth wheel around here?" Miko looked up at Breakdown "You _do _know Autobots don't keep pets, right?" Breakdown frowned "What!? You did make that mistake when you first got here!"

"Miko." Bulkhead stopped her warningly "Remember how we told you about Fowler's new foster kid?" Miko looked thoughtful for a moment, but nodded "That's him. Breakdown's new partner..." He seemed to cringe as if the thought was still odd even as he said it "Tyler."

Miko grinned widely. "Well then..." Miko shouted "Hey new guy!" She shouted loudly, causing Tyler to jump out of his skin "Get over here."

Breakdown grunted a bit, not liking the way that Miko demanded things. Yet he wanted to get on Miko's good side, and rather than berate her, he bit his vocal receptor. Tyler made his way over, putting his hands in his pockets, and shyly sticking by Breakdown. "Hey." Tyler waved a little.

"So, _you're _Breakdown's partner." Miko took in the form of Tyler for a good couple of moments "I gotta admit, I was expecting someone about three feet taller and way more ripped." There went the filter again "I'm Miko, by the way."

She reached out her hand, causing Tyler to stare up at Breakdown wearily. Knowing the girl to be (mostly) harmless, he simply shrugged his shoulders a bit, and nodded encouragingly. Tyler held out his hand too, and shook hers calmly. "I-I'm Tyler." He paused a moment "Aren't there two other kids too?" He questioned "Are they coming, or...?"

"Nah, Jack has work and Raf is at home studying." Miko groaned "Those two are _so _lame sometimes." She quickly perked up after a few moments "Ohhh do you play any instruments!? It's okay if you don't. I'll teach you and we can totally jam later." Tyler blinked at her, and shook his head "Alright! Come on, Ty." She quickly grabbed hold of Tyler's wrist "I'll teach you how to play the bass! Then you can be in our band!"

As Miko dragged Tyler off, Breakdown stared at Bulkhead, who looked amused. "Does she even know how to play an instrument?" Breakdown questioned.

"Define "play"." Bulkhead snorted "You might want to lower your audio receptors a bit."

"Which is my cue to go find Prime and get our meeting started."

As Fowler walked off, Breakdown mentally prepared himself for whatever noise he would be subjected to. But nothing could prepare his audio receptors for the loud screech of an off-tuned bass. Breakdown groaned, he could already tell this was going to be one _long _jam session.

...

"So, Bulkhead told me you're the reason Breakdown jumped ship."

Tyler turned to Miko, nodding his head slowly. They had taken a break from "jamming" after a couple of hours, and had now seated themselves on the catwalk. "Yeah, I guess I kinda am... I mean, I convinced him to quit the Decepticons at least." He shook his head a little bit "But really, it was his choice. I don't like people saying that I "convinced" him. I think he kinda convinced himself."

Miko chuckled, shaking her head in response. "Oh come on, Breakdown needed convincing." Miko shook her head "Man, you should have SEEN him when he was with the Decepticons! I don't even like him but man he kicked total butt!" She added, slamming her fist into her open palm "He must be an AWESOME partner to have!"

Tyler nodded his head, that much he wouldn't deny. He had definitely gotten an "awesome partner" as Miko had so aptly put it. "He saved my life." Tyler explained "You should have seen him then. He wasn't even in his robot form, but man." He shook his head "I wish I was able to see more of it, but.. Y'know." He paused a moment "Bulkhead seems like he'd be an awesome one too."

"Only _the _coolest!" Miko shouted quite loudly again "Man, Bulkhead's the best. Especially when he's got his buddy, Wheeljack with him!" She stood up "You should see that 'Con crusher in action!"

Tyler smirked a bit, listening quietly as Miko went on and on about Bulkhead. Eventually, his smile faded though, as it became more and more clear that she talked too much. Tyler had never been much of a talker, more of a "doer" and when people talked too much, it often made him uncomfortable. "Hey dude, are you even listening to me?" Tyler stared up, realizing he had zoned out on her "Aw, whatever! The point is that when it comes to awesome 'Bots, Bulkhead takes the cake!"

"I think Breakdown is just as cool though."

Miko looked at him like he had just punched her in the gut. And already, though Tyler had not taken a side in the whole Bulkhead-Breakdown rivalry, he could tell she had. "That's because you haven't seen the two of them in action." Miko nudged him calmly "Don't worry, stick with me a while. You'll get your chance to see what Bulkhead can _really _do!" She then asserted "And why he trumps your partner every time."

"But we're not allowed in the field with them."

Miko laughed quietly and shook her head. "Okay, we _really _need to show you a good time someday. Because you clearly haven't lived if you're this much of a buzzkill!" Miko quickly clapped the boy on the back "Next time they go on a mission, I'll take you through the ground bridge. Even if we do get caught, we won't get in _that _much trouble."

"But Bill said it's not safe."

"You're gonna listen to every little thing he tells you?"

Tyler looked thoughtful, wondering if it was a good idea to say "no" or not. Not following the rules in Brody's house had gotten him the worst beatings of all. But then again, Fowler clearly wasn't like that. So maybe agreeing to doing it at least once wouldn't hurt things too much. At least, that was all that he could honestly hope. "I guess not." Tyler shrugged "As long as it's nothing that dangerous."

"Alright!" Miko shouted "You totally won't regret it, dude!"

_I'd better not. _Tyler asserted.

"Hey Tyler!" Tyler looked down as Fowler called up to him "Come on, kid. I'm off for the night. Let's go grab dinner down at this diner I know by the house."

"Alright, Bill."

"Aw, man!" Miko frowned "Figures it's already time for you to go."

Tyler smiled, he had never had someone say anything like that to him. He had friends, that much was a fact, but it was still nice to hear that he had apparently made one more. "Yeah, well. I mean, they'll go out again, right?" Tyler asked as he started towards the step ladder with Miko "I'll totally see the guys in action anyway, just not right now."

"Tch, yeah, I guess you're right." Miko shrugged "Maybe we can jam again if you come over tomorrow."

Tyler chuckled mildly at the thought, given the disaster that had been his poor attempt at playing. Yet despite it all, he managed a smile and shrugged himself. "Yeah, I guess so." Tyler waved a bit "I'll see you around Miko."

As he jogged over to meet Fowler and Breakdown he took a deep breath. It was clear by the smile on his face that Fowler had seen the entire interaction. Given that he had finally broken out of his shell, even a little, and had fun that day. "That Miko's something else, isn't she?" Fowler teased lightly.

"Yeah." Tyler laughed "But I like her, she's cool."

"Just promise me that was your last "jam session"." Breakdown groaned "No offense, but my audio receptors can't take much more of that."

Tyler only stuck his tongue out at his partner for that one. As the mech transformed down, Tyler took a look back towards Miko and gave a small wave before climbing in. Deep inside, he hoped that the other two allies took to him well. Miko's friendliness had alleviated some of that fear, but it didn't change his shyness, nor his nervousness in full.

...

That night was the first night that Knock Out tried to make contact with Breakdown. It was the middle of the night, Fowler and Tyler were both asleep, and he knew even if he left, neither would notice. The thought was tempting, taking off and opening the channel. As Primus knew all too well that he truly missed his friend, and in some ways, he very much missed the Decepticons. With this in mind, he transformed, standing in front of the home and feeling the side of his helm. He knew that Knock Out had hacked into his system, that was the only way with the disconnection from his Decepticon lines that the mech could get through. And he also knew if he had done that, he was worried.

He stood there, wondering whether or not he should just do it. Transform, take off, and answer the comm link. Tyler would be fine, he had the Autobots and they'd find him a good home. Heck, maybe Fowler himself might end up loving and adopting the kid at some point. Yet as he turned to Tyler's bedroom window, that thought slowly faltered. Could he really do that anymore? After all they had gone through, after the promise he made, could he really give up and go back to the Decepticons just from homesickness?

He stared for a long moment, and after several seconds of thoughts, declined the line. His optics shuttered closed as he yet again worked his comm link into negating any contact from the channel. Though it hurt to do so to his best friend of so many centuries, he still couldn't push back the feeling that he had. He was there for a reason, a reason he may not have fully realized yet. And one that quite frankly, he wanted to be around to figure out. Yet even so, as the mech transformed down, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of pain.

No one said that changing sides would be easy. But deep down, he did wish that it would at least not be this painful. "Whatever you have cooked up for Tyler and I, Primus... And even Fowler." He paused "It had better be good for what I'm giving up."

There was no response, not that he had expected one from the deity. But rather, he had hoped for a sign of some sort that never came. He sighed quietly, allowing himself to once again power down into recharge. There was no time to dwell on it any longer, what was done was done. And now, he had to live with it.

...

A/N: Figured it was about time that last scene happened too. ;) Hope it all came out well! :)


	15. Thinking Back and Moving Forward

A/N: No meeting with Jack or Raf this chapter. Will resume that soon, but this chapter served a different purpose in my mind either way.

...

**CHAPTER 15  
Thinking Back and Moving Forward**

Tyler laid his head against the couch pillow slowly, yawning a bit. It was late on a saturday night, and Fowler had elected to stay home. Allowing him a night off from the Autobots, Decepticons, and the rest of the craziness. As the man approached the couch, and took a seat, he tensed up a bit. He still wasn't used to an adult man approaching him without an attempt to harm him as well. But as usual, all Fowler did was smile down, pat his leg, and nod. "So what are you up to watching tonight?" Fowler questioned "Any shows you really like?"

Tyler shrugged, having not had a lot of time to watch TV series until he'd come to Fowler's house. Other than the times he'd sneak in cartoons on his uncle's TV while he was out, there really hadn't been much. "I uh... I like some cartoons. Like Phineas and Ferb and all." He paused a minute "I know you don't want to watch that though, so we'll watch whatever you want."

To his surprise, Fowler shook his head. "Let's compromise. Maybe there's a cartoon on we can both get into." Fowler replied "Have you ever watched Scooby-Doo?" He asked politely, frowning as Tyler shook his head "Well, that won't do at all. Every kid needs a healthy dose of the "meddling kids" in Mystery Incorperated." He added "My old man and I used to do this all the time when I was your age." He paused "So did my daughter and I."

Tyler nodded his head slowly, surprised at the idea of Fowler liking any kind of cartoons. The way he acted, Tyler had taken him to be more of a crime drama sort, but then again, he didn't know the man all that well yet. Yet he simply snuggled deep into the couch, watching the show, which he found involved a talking dog and teenagers solving mysteries. The premise was silly upon first inspection, but he quickly found his thirteen year old side loving the heck out of it. "This is the silliest show in the world." Tyler mentioned about ten minutes into it "I can't believe you like it."

"You don't?" Fowler questioned.

"No, I do. I'm just surprised someone as serious as _you_ does." Tyler explained.

Fowler laughed, knowing that Tyler had a good point. Though he did have the tendency to break from his serious demeanor and be, as some people would say, "a big teddy bear" and a goofball. "That's typically just me at work." Fowler finally admitted "Being a government official means I have to act formal. On my free time I'm a lot less like that." He turned to Tyler "Started being that way when I had my daughter. Being a dad made me more open to having fun."

"Do you like being a dad?"

Fowler stared at Tyler, and sighed quietly. "I _did_." Fowler explained "Truth is I hardly see her more than once a year anymore. Her mom got full custody, all I got was visitational rights." He shook his head "It's only been two years, but I still wouldn't say I'm much of a "dad" anymore." He looked at Tyler "Well, maybe a little bit more now that you're in the house with me." He explained.

Tyler nearly stated that he was "not his dad", but bit it back. If nothing else, Fowler was his legal guardian for the moment, and it made him the closest thing to one that he had. He wasn't sure if that was a bad or good thing in his mind honestly, it could have been either one. He hadn't totally made his decision on where he and Fowler stood yet. He knew their arrangement was only temporary though, so he did everything he could not to start making their relationship more than a casual or friendly one. After all, Fowler was still getting over what happened with his family. He wasn't ready for a new one, especially not one with the baggage he carried, and he accepted that.

"Hey." Tyler stared up at Fowler as he spoke up "You okay, kid? You seemed to space on me."

"Fine." Tyler muttered "I guess I'm just getting a little tired, maybe."

Fowler smiled a bit, nodding his head as Tyler yawned, even if it was for fake emphasis. He laid his head against the pillow, only then realizing that he was tired, even if he had initially been faking it. "Hey Bill?" The man grunted in response "If you had a family of your own at some point? Why did you even become a foster parent?" He paused "You said that you had been one when your wife was around."

Fowler was silent, he leaned forward. "That's how I got my daughter. You see, my wife couldn't have kids. So we took the job to find one." Fowler paused a moment "It's kind of silly. We went through all of that and never took down our license even after we'd adopted her." He shook his head "And heck, all that work and I ended up with nothing." He looked over at Tyler again only to chuckle at the sight.

Tyler had collapsed, laying against the pillow with his eyes closed. It amazed him how easily the boy could move in and out of sleep. But then again, he was a kid, and they could wear themselves out easily. "I guess I'll have to explain it to you later, then."

Tyler was barely able to comprehend as he was pulled into strong arms. It was an odd feeling, yet he didn't feel the instinctive need to put up a fight as Fowler carried him up the stairs and towards his room. Carefully opening the door, he set the boy on his bed silently and pulled the covers up to his chin. He looked thoughtful, it had been the first time in too long he had tucked anyone in, and it felt good. He sighed, carefully running a hand along Tyler's forehead before starting for the door.

Tyler lifted his eyes a moment later, staring over at Fowler. "I don't think it was for nothing." Tyler replied "You seem like you probably made an awesome dad." He explained "And I bet she misses you too."

Fowler let another smile tug at his lips at that. "Thanks, kid." Fowler finally spoke "Sleep well."

As he left the room silently, Fowler couldn't help but feel that, even for the smallest moment, they had made a connection.

...

Breakdown groaned quietly as he hit the ground yet again. If there was a worst thing about being in the Autobots so far, it was training with his former friend, and still "frenemy" of sorts, Bulkhead. Breakdown didn't understand why any of them needed to train, or spar for that matter, they'd both undergone their fair share of training after all. "Come on, Breakdown, get up." Bulkhead snapped, standing over him "I know you're a better fighter than this! You fought better than that when we were kids."

Breakdown groaned and growled as he lifted himself back to his feet. He hated being knocked on his aft like this, especially given the fact that Tyler was watching as they sparred. Yet, he still couldn't lie about his reasoning. "I'm not giving my all because this is pointless." Breakdown snapped "I've had all the training I need. And besides, we're allies. I don't want to hurt an ally."

Bulkhead chuckled quietly, shaking his head. "You've never finished your training, you should know that." Bulkhead replied "Remember what ole Blazerider taught us back in the Youth Sector?" He questioned "You only know everything you need to..."

"When you've joined the Allspark." Breakdown sighed quietly "You just had to bring our old caretaker into this, didn't you?"

Bulkhead smirked triumphantly and swung his fist for Breakdown yet again. The mech caught his fist in his hand, and quickly flung Bulkhead over his shoulder, slamming him onto the floor of the sparring room. "I guess you forgot the other thing he told us." Breakdown shook his head "Never get cocky in the middle of a fight." He then added "How's the view from down there?"

Bulkhead grunted, but even allowed himself to chuckle the slightest bit at that. "He always gave the best advice." He held out his hand as Breakdown helped him back to his feet "Ugh, I'm gonna feel that slam in the morning." He muttered under his breath "Round three?" He questioned.

"Three?" Tyler asked in confusion "This is like, round fifteen."

Bulkhead checked the time, noting how much time had passed since they'd started. "Primus, kid's right. Where'd that time go?" Bulkhead questioned "We can still go another round now that you have your head out of your aft, though." He explained.

Breakdown peered over at Tyler thoughtfully, and then back at Bulkhead. "I've got a better idea." He stated "Kid, what do you think of learning some self-defense techniques?" He questioned, Tyler's head perked up in surprise "Just in case you ever run into another man like your..." He paused "Uncle." He managed, using the term loosely.

Bulkhead blinked at Breakdown, surprised that he'd even suggest that. "You sure that's a good idea?" Bulkhead asked "We don't even put the older kids in on training. I mean, learning to defend himself might be a good thing." He paused "But learning from you or I is another."

"He's my partner, Bulkhead." Breakdown explained "If I want to train him, I will." He paused "Besides, don't you remember why old Blazerider started to even teach us to defend ourselves in the first place?"

Bulkhead's grimace answered that for him, he, like Breakdown often wished he could forget. "How can I forget?" Bulkhead replied.

"Is there something I'm missing here?" Tyler asked.

But neither mech replied as they quietly remembered to themselves about that day.

...

_It had already been a couple of days, but Breakdown was still shaken._

_The medic at Iacon General, First Aide, had gotten to Bulkhead in time, that was what mattered. But the youngling still couldn't believe what their latest foster family had done to him. He had only been the equivalent of a five year old. He didn't know that mechs weren't supposed to "punish" their sparklings by beating them. He'd never known what it was like to be in a family so he had simply thought that it was how sparklings were supposed to be punished. He'd only realized how bad it was when Bulkhead had been close to offlining, and even then, he didn't fully understand._

_Yet even though he was shaken, his life went on. They'd returned to the youth sector orphanage to find that the latest batch of orphans, other than the two of them, had went on to families. That happened a lot, especially given the two younglings always wanted to be adopted together, and given the state of things, that was a hard thing to have happen. Thus, they had most of the orphanage to themselves, having settled themselves with a children's game to keep them entertained. _

_"Mechlings." Both younglings turned at the sound of their caretakers voice "Can you come here a moment?"_

_They turned back to one-another, and Breakdown shuddered. "Do you think we've done something wrong?" Breakdown asked "I don't want to get smacked again, Bulky." He muttered "I don't want you to either."_

_Bulkhead, who was older than Breakdown by a few vorns, and therefore, more knowledgable, shook his head. He held out his hand, and smiled as he stood to his feet. "Blazerider wouldn't hurt you or me." Bulkhead told him firmly "He's the only person who even really **likes** us you know?" _

_Breakdown was silent, though he knew his friend was right. Even though they'd been through several temporary placements, the orphanage director was the only one who seemed to genuinely care. He'd never hurt them before, but what if the mech started now? Maybe this would have been the last straw, or maybe not, but either way as he took Bulkhead's hand, he was nervous. "I just hope it won't hurt if he does." Breakdown cringed "Like when Constellar got really angry."_

_"He won't hurt us." Bulkhead reaffirmed._

_As they entered the room in which they'd been called into, they took a deep breath. Their caretaker stood in the middle of the room, his dulling red and gold paint unmistakable. His wise old optics stared down at the two young mechs as he smiled. "There you two are." Blazerider put his hands on his hips "Since it's just going to be the three of us for a while, I wanted to change things up today." Both younglings stared at one another "You both took at terrible beating the other day, didn't you?"_

_"Bulky got it the worst!" Breakdown replied._

_"It was worth it to keep you safe." Breakdown asserted. _

_"And that is noble. But I believe I may have a better way to assure your safety next time." Blazerider replied to Bulkhead, staring down at the two of them "Starting today, I'm going to teach you the self-defense tactics that my father taught me." He explained calmly "You're both young to be starting. But given how vicious that mech was..." He paused "I do not want you both to be at that kind of mercy again."_

_"Awesome!" Bulkhead shouted "We're gonna learn to fight like real warriors, Breakdown!"_

_Breakdown looked nervous, his lower lip quivering slightly as he stared up at his caretaker. "But I'm too little. I'm not big like Bulky." __He explained "What if I suck?" he asked._

_"Outer strength is only a small part of defense." Blazerider assured him "You have a great deal of inner strength, Breakdown. I've seen much of it in you, and it will be your greatest of allies if you learn to use it properly." He paused "And that goes for both of you."_

_Breakdown still looked nervous, but even so, forced a smile, and nodded. "O-Okay..." _

_"Then, if you both are ready." Blazerider added "Move into the center ring, and we will begin."_

_As both younglings made their way to the center ring in the room, they had no idea this would be the first of many "battles". Back then, it was nothing more to them than learning to protect themselves, and each other. And they now could only imagine what Blazerider would think of how far they'd come from that day._

...

Tyler stood, staring at the two mech's shakily. He knew they were waiting for him, yet he wasn't sure that he was ready. He was scrawny, he wasn't strong like either of the mechs before him and he recognized it. He rubbed his arm, and looked up at Breakdown. "Breakdown, I'm too weak to learn to fight. The most I could do is kick someone in the groin and run." He explained "You guys should just keep going."

Eyeing Bulkhead quietly, Breakdown stepped forward and crouched low to his partner. "Another thing my mentor taught us? It's not all about physical strength." Breakdown replied "I wasn't much in that way when I started either. It was my inner strength that helped." He paused "And whenever anyone tried to do me real harm, I knew how to protect myself."

"But I'm not a robot like you are."

"It won't matter." Breakdown replied "I'll take it easy on you, I promise."

Bulkhead watched and waited for Tyler to decline. Yet after a moment, he gulped and nodded his head, stepping towards the center of the room. Breakdown's holoform appeared in front of him, and placed a hand on Tyler's shoulder gently. "We'll make even more of a fighter out of you than you already are." Tyler grinned widely "Now let me show you the basics."

As Breakdown began the lesson, Bulkhead found himself smiling. It was an odd sight, seeing Breakdown being this way with a human, or any type of being really. He hadn't seen a soft side like this out of Breakdown in a long time, and it oddly was a pleasant sight to see for him. _I hate to say it, but Blazerider would be proud. _Bulkhead thought to himself quietly.

After a moment, he activated his holoform as well. "What do you say we teach shorty the ropes together?" Bulkhead questioned "I might remember a few things you may have forgotten after all."

Breakdown turned towards Bulkhead thoughtfully, wondering if he was being honest in wanting to help. After a moment, he nodded his head, and smirked. "It wouldn't hurt anything." He shrugged his shoulders a bit "Where do you suggest we start?"

"Third formation." Bulkhead replied "Just like we did."

As the two mech shared a smile, Breakdown felt his spark warm a bit. He didn't like that feeling much, but this one he did. He'd accepted a long time ago that a part of him, no matter how small, had missed having Bulkhead as a friend. And for the first time, he truly felt that they may be on the way to finding that balance again. Yet after a moment, he simply nodded his head. "Alright kid." He began "Let's get started."

After all, there was no more time to muse when they had a lot of work ahead of them.

...

A/N: Woo, my longest chapter ever! :) Hope you guys enjoyed the peek into Bulkhead and Breakdown's past. Anyways, reviews make my day as always. :)


	16. Small Steps

**CHAPTER 16  
Small Steps**

For Breakdown, training Tyler to fight was a rush. He hadn't had his own sparklings to have the honor of training, and Primus knew he would never have one in the middle of the war. But training Tyler was a good substitute, getting to pass on what he knew to someone young, someone who looked up to him. Tyler fit the bill on all of those factors, and thus, he looked on in pride as his partner got into another of the stances he'd taught him over the past week. Sweat cascaded down his face as he took slow, labored breaths and Breakdown shook his head. "Maybe we should call it a day. You look exhausted." Breakdown shook his head a bit "Come on, kid. Grab a water and take a break."

"Don't want to." Tyler heaved "I'm getting better."

"You are, but if I push you any harder you'll collapse." Breakdown chuckled "And the last thing I need now is Fowler getting angry at me. We're barely on good terms as it is." He tossed Tyler a water bottle with his holoform "But you're doing good, kid. Honestly, I'm impressed with you." He shook his head "Even if you don't really lay a hand on me."

It had been going that way for obvious reasons. If he and Tyler actually sparred he can imagine how terrifying it would be for the boy. Given he'd already been hit one too many times by someone who was supposed to be caring about him. And though he would never actually hurt him in their sparring matches, he didn't want to even risk the chance that Tyler could start fearing him when actually even mock-fighting against him. "You think so?" He questioned, to which Breakdown nodded "Sweet! I'll be a strong as you before long, I bet."

Breakdown had to laugh lightly at that, yet he nodded at the young child. "Probably not given my stature. But you'll definitely be darn near close." He encouraged, though he knew he would never be as strong as he was in truth "By the way, speaking of Fowler..." He paused a moment, thinking through his next sentence carefully "You two seem to be getting pretty close, huh?"

Tyler frowned, knowing almost at once what Breakdown was implying. He'd been trying to keep his mind away from that idea for a while, even if it crossed his mind every now and again. But Breakdown's prying hadn't helped much, not the least bit. Especially given that it was already unlike him to get his hopes up about a relationship he had barely started. "Yeah, Bill's a great guy." Tyler managed to reply "He invited me to his family get-together next month."

"Hey, that's exciting!" Breakdown nudged him with the side of his leg gently "It means he likes you too!"

Tyler shrugged, unsure of whether or not his friend was right. Again, it felt too soon to make any judgements. And for that matter, even if Fowler was father material for him, he wasn't sure he was ready to open himself back up to another adult just yet. There was a lot of trust that had to be put into someone to start even seeing them as a father figure. And to be quite frank, no matter how nice Fowler was, he wasn't ready to trust adults again in that way yet, at least not the human kind. "Yeah, it does." Tyler nodded "What about you and Bulkhead? You guys seem to be getting along again."

Breakdown was silent, he glanced down at Tyler, knowing full well that the boy was trying what he could to change the subject. He rolled his optics absently as he looked up at the ceiling. "I get it, it's personal and all." Breakdown finally responded "But you're my partner, you can't expect me not to pry about you and your possible legal guardian. Can you?" Tyler nodded thoughtfully "As for Bulkhead and I... It's getting easier to get along." He stated, crossing his arms "Then again, there's still a "snowballs chance in hell" as you would say of us being friends again."

"What makes you think that?"

"What makes _you _think Fowler's not worth getting close to?"

"He doesn't want another kid." Tyler explained "He wouldn't have even taken me if he didn't have to keep an eye on you."

Breakdown's optics widened at the statement, albeit a true one when it came to the last half. But as far as he had known, Tyler had been in the med bay at the time, making it impossible for him to have heard. "Who the _frag_ told you that?" Breakdown snapped, turning to stare at the young human "I'll beat them so senseless-."

"I heard you and Bill talking the other night." Tyler explained "It's okay though, I get it. No one actually _wants _baggage. I don't take it personally." Breakdown stared down at the ground at that "But at least I'll have you no matter where I go, right?" He added "And these awesome moves too!" He added.

Breakdown chuckled, breathing in and nodding in response. Though inside, it hurt his spark to know that Tyler had heard one of their check-ins and done the math. That was the last thing he had wanted Tyler to hear, the whole truth of the situation. "Yeah, you've got me." Breakdown paused "But still. Give him a shot, Ty. A lot can change over time, you and I both know that better than anyone."

"I'll give Bill a chance if you give Bulkhead and the other 'Bots one." Tyler responded "Because I bet if you tried a little harder, they'd see in you what I do."

Breakdown grunted in uncertainty, though he knew Tyler was right. If he tried a little harder, like he had they had decided to train him, maybe he could mend his old friendship and make new ones. And maybe, just maybe, it would inspire Tyler to open up a little more. "You drive a hard bargain kid." Breakdown nodded "But I'll do it." He paused, then looked down at him yet again "For now though, I guess one more round couldn't hurt." He nodded "Position ten, go."

He tried to ignore the smug grin of victory on Tyler's face.

...

"Ratchet?"

There was a loud clang as the startled medic threw a wrench in the air, which promptly whacked him on the helm. The older mech groaned quietly and turned his head towards Breakdown silently. He was greeted by the medics usual scowl in his presence, he got that a lot after all. "Breakdown?" Ratchet titled his head "Did I call you in for some reason?" He questioned.

"Nah, doc. I came in because I have an old injury I need to have checked out." Breakdown seated himself on one of Ratchet's berths "Knock Out used to check it twice a month, but obviously..." Ratchet stared at him "Listen, if you'd rather I try my hand at repairing myself, it's cool. But don't blame me if sometime during a battle, we-."

"Quit rambling and show me the damage."

Breakdown nearly stiffened as Ratchet approached him. Knock Out hadn't exactly been the Mother Theresa of medics either, but he'd heard enough stories of Ratchet the Hatchet to fear him. Already, he could feel his processor regretting promising Tyler to give the Autobots a chance, laughing at how stupid he was to go to Ratchet first especially. "It's some minor joint damage. We didn't have the parts to fix it, but y'know..." Breakdown began "We'd tighten it up every so often to make sure my leg was functioning properly."

As he opened a panel in his leg, Ratchet moved forward to inspect it. Immediately Breakdown became worried about the furrow in Ratchet's optic ridge. "You didn't have the parts to repair damage as simple as this?" Breakdown shook his head "I sometimes forget that the Decepticon supplies are limited compared to ours. I can have this completely fixed in less than twenty minutes."

"You - we - have the humans supplying parts for us though." Breakdown replied "The Decepticons have nothing. Knock Out works with what he has. And he's a fragging good medic too."

Ratchet seemed to consider an answer, but merely grunted yet again in response. Breakdown wasn't even sure the medic had ever seen Knock Out in action, so he couldn't blame him for not having a response. "Y'know while we're on the subject..." Breakdown paused "You do know that I was a medical assistant to-."

"No."

"Didn't even finish my question."

"If you're asking to further your training as a medical assistant under me?" Ratchet questioned with a snort "You're asking the wrong 'Bot." He explained "I do not require one."

Breakdown grunted, there went that idea. He turned his head a bit, and searched his mind for a solution. Even if Ratchet was a hard nosed mech, there had to be some way to gain the trust he needed them all to have for him. After all, if he didn't have their trust, how could he ever truly hope to be an "Autobot"? "Nah, I wasn't asking that." Ratchet lifted another optic ridge "I was just wondering if I could observe you a little bit. Watch how you repair the humans mostly."

Ratchet stared at Breakdown as if he'd grown a second head. Perhaps it was because it wasn't the oddest of reasons he could have given. Perhaps, given he was a former Decepticon, he might have expected Breakdown to assert himself. Yet the old medic sighed, and stood to his feet. "I suppose that wouldn't be of any harm." Ratchet replied calmly "Though I would venture to ask why."

"So that my medical talents aren't completely wasted in the field." Breakdown asserted "I want to know how to help Tyler if we ever get into a bad situation together." He shrugged his shoulders "And frankly, I don't trust any human medics to tell me how to do it best." He waved his hand "With no offense to the Darby kid's maternal unit."

"June Darby."

"Yeah, her." Breakdown replied "With our internal computers, we probably know how to fix them better than they do."

Ratchet stared at Breakdown, but nodded. It was true, in a lot of ways, they knew things the humans couldn't dream of knowing. He looked thoughtful for a moment before returning to work on the leg joints that caused Breakdown pain. "That is better handled by hands-on experience." Ratchet explained "I can teach you, but I don't have _any _need for an assistant, so that's all we're doing."

"That's fine by me." Breakdown smirked "That's all I even need to know."

"I know what you're doing." Ratchet finally stated as he closed up the section of his leg "And it's going to take far more than a few lessons to get me to trust you." He then added "So if that is the intended effect, I suggest you back out now." He explained.

Breakdown thought it over for a moment, and finally nodded his head. "Then, when's our first session?"

Ratchet was silent, clearly in disbelief that Breakdown hadn't backed out of it when he got the chance. "Right here, ten-thirty tomorrow morning." Ratchet replied bluntly "Show up on time, or you can forget a second lesson."

Ratchet smirked; if nothing else, this was a start.

...

Tyler rested his head against the wall slowly, groaning to himself. He could name about forty reasons he hated school, but science class was probably at the top of his list. In the back of his head, he tried to remember his teacher's lecture from the previous day, his mind came up with nothing. He'd tried tutoring, and had even had a session that day, but nothing helped. The more he tried, the more it seemed like the questions got harder and harder. He knew the best solution was sitting downstairs too, but he was trying everything to avoid that option.

One side of him was reminded of that agreement that he and Breakdown had made. The one about giving Fowler a chance to be more than just someone who was providing room, board, and friendship to him. But would he even be willing to help with science homework? Was he even any good with science? He moaned slightly as he grabbed the science textbook off the desk. He knew what Breakdown would be saying, "man up", "he'll be happy to help", "just get down there already", any combination of the three really.

Eventually, he stood to his feet and started out of the room and down the staircase. He found Fowler sitting quietly in the living room, flipping through TV channels in pure boredom. "Hey... Uh, Bill?" Fowler turned his head towards Tyler calmly "I, uhhhhhhhh... I was just wondering..." He clutched his textbook tightly "If you could... I mean, that is... Maybe...?"

"Biology, huh?" Tyler nodded in response "It's been a while since I was in middle school. But I'm sure I can figure it out." He held out his hand calmly "I wouldn't expect A plus work though." He chuckled.

Tyler carefully handed the book to Fowler, taking a seat beside him. The man looked over the page of the book, and took a pencil from the table in front of him. "Alright kid, tell me how much you know about cells." The blank look on Tyler's face answered the question for him "Heh. Alright, so let's find the basics before we really get started. Or it's going to be a long night." He chuckled.

A couple of hours later, Tyler understood a little better, and had the completed science homework in front of him. Fowler yawned slightly, pulling an arm around Tyler carefully. For once, Tyler didn't hesitate, remembering the promise he'd made to work on this. "Bill?" Fowler stared down at him "You know how my first appearance in court or whatever is next week, right?" The man nodded "Will you come with me?"

Fowler blinked, surprise filling his features. "I thought you said you wouldn't need me to?" Fowler questioned "You're not even going to be testifying yet."

Tyler looked down. "Is it weird that even then I'm scared?"

Fowler shook his head in understanding, though still surprised that Tyler had asked him to come along. He hadn't realized that Tyler trusted him even the smallest bit to ask it of him. "No, not at all. I would be too." Fowler replied, taking a deep breath "If me being there would make you more comfortable, then I'm more than happy to tag along."

Tyler smiled, and for the first time, leaned into the man's embrace. Maybe Breakdown was right, maybe Fowler was worth giving a chance. As hard as it may have been for him to get used to the idea of someone actually caring, he knew it was true. And maybe, just maybe, Fowler would prove to be the person he needed most. From the window, a smile formed on Breakdown's face, it was a small step towards change, just like his encounter with Ratchet had been, but it was a step none-the-less.


	17. Friendships and Comforts

**CHAPTER 17  
Friendships and Comforts**

It was odd to think that only a month ago, Breakdown would have seen Tyler and his relationship like that of a pet and his master. Tyler could have ended up that way if he hadn't taken the time to get to know him as well. Yet now, he found himself looking forward to the time when Tyler was out of school and they could talk, bond, and learn from one-another. In effect, Breakdown had come to realize, Tyler had gone from a slightly intelligent animal to a trusted partner and friend in his optics. Something he was still trying to fully process.

Yet even as he waited outside the school, which had let out moments before, he found himself anticipating Tyler's arrival. He didn't need to wait in anticipation long, however, as the boy soon moved out of the school and into view, grinning from ear-to-ear. "I'd say that's the grin of a kid who just aced his science test." Breakdown commented "See, you were worried for nothing."

"I can't take all the credit." Tyler brushed his hair to one side "Bill - uh. He's been helping me study all week."

Breakdown's holoform let a smirk cross his features, chuckling. "So, my advice was good then?" Breakdown stared him in the eyes "Just because I'm kinda a big brute doesn't make me stupid after all?" He added.

"Never said you were stupid." Tyler rebuttled "But it doesn't mean he's going to want to adopt me either." He explained, shaking his head "He only lost his daughter two years ago, Break." He pointed out "Plus he adopted her at three. Since when have you heard of anyone adopting up?" He snorted.

"The point isn't to get you adopted." Breakdown replied "It's to get you to trust people again."

Tyler nodded his head, leaning against the seat as seat belts wrapped around him. He did have to admit, he was starting to get the feeling he could do just that. But even so, it was a shaky trust at best, and most definitely one that would take time to build. "Okay." Tyler sighed quietly, crossing his arms "Hey Breakdown?" He turned his head towards the boy calmly "I want to ask you a favor."

"Shoot."

Tyler looked up at the mech's holoform, looking as though what he wanted to ask was painful. "This sunday... That's the anniversary of when my parents, well, y'know." Breakdown grew silent "I don't want to bother Bill about it. He has work and all... But, I was wondering." He chewed his lip lightly "I was wondering if we could go down to where they're buried?"

Breakdown could now understand why this week made him so tense. Between the anniversary and the start of the trial, he didn't even grasp how the young human was still holding up. "Yeah, I'll take you down there on Sunday, sure." Breakdown nodded "But are you sure it won't overwhelm you? The first part of the trial's on saturday morning."

"... I'll be fine."

The rest of the ride to base was mostly quiet, and to tell the truth, Breakdown could tell he wasn't "fine". But he didn't dig further either. He'd learned a long time ago that prying into people's feelings like that could have bad results. Tyler climbed out of him calmly as they arrived in the Autobot base. Within moments, Tyler noticed that the base was mostly empty, getting the feeling that a mission must have been in progress. "Man, did I miss a party or something, Ratchet?" Breakdown questioned as he approached the medic.

"Decepticon disturbance in the middle east, actually." Ratchet replied, then turned to Tyler "Rafael is playing video games at the moment. Perhaps you would like to join him?"

"Who's Rafael?"

Ratchet turned his head, having nearly forgotten that Tyler had not yet met Rafael or Jack. He nodded his head towards a young boy who was seated on the usual video gaming perch. He didn't look much younger than Tyler, which the boy was surprised by, as he had been told that the other kids were actually in high school. A part of him became nervous at the thought of meeting another Autobot ally his age. His peers didn't exactly scream "maturity" and as a victim of bullying, he couldn't help but wonder if the boy was friendly. "Go ahead, Ty." Breakdown nodded "We talked about this whole shyness thing you have."

"It's not a "thing"." Tyler asserted.

"Maybe not, but you could still use a few more people to hang out with." Breakdown nodded "Get going kid. Ratchet and I have a session so I'm going to be busy for a while."

After a moment, Tyler found his courage and headed off in the direction of the boy, Rafael. Breakdown chuckled, and turned to Ratchet. He sagged his shoulder slightly, and took a deep breath. "Yet when he opens up more. He can't get enough of hanging with Fowler." Breakdown added "And that guy even intimidates _me_."

"It will still logically take Tyler time to adjust. Given his guardian allowed him little time with children." Ratchet replied, shaking his head "Being we are the only people he has had good experiences with for an extended amount of time, it's understandable. Any one like him would logically be nervous." He paused a moment "Now enough talk about the boy, you still have much to learn." He added.

Breakdown gave a half-smirk, and nodded his head. He quietly approached Ratchet, ready to learn what he had to teach him today. After all, he had learned a great deal from the mech already, and the more he learned the better a "medic" he'd be. "Alright, doc. Try not to put any dents in me over screwing up today though." Breakdown muttered "I'm still feeling that last one."

"Good." Ratchet snorted "It means you learned a lesson."

Breakdown couldn't help but smirk at that.

...

"So _you're _the new kid Bee's been telling me about."

Tyler hadn't even said a word before the young boy spoke to him. He took in the sight of the young, spiky haired, glasses wearing boy and sighed. If this boy was some kind of "bully" than he sure didn't give off the appearance of one. "Yeah..." Tyler replied "Tyler." He introduced himself meekly "And you're Rafael, right?" He questioned.

The boy nodded, pausing his game as he shrugged his shoulders. "My friend's call me Raf." Raf replied "Hey, wanna go a round? Bee and I were supposed to play, but he went on a mission and well... Yeah." He held out a controller "It's a lot more fun with two players."

Tyler looked at the controller, but nodded, taking the controller from him. He set his backpack to the side and sighed, falling against the couch. "I can only go a few rounds though. Bill's probably going to want to know how I did on my Biology test." He shrugged his shoulders "We were studying all weekend, and he seemed pretty anxious to find out."

"Bill?" Raf questioned "You mean Agent Fowler?" Tyler nodded his head "You call him Bill."

Tyler nodded again, crossing two of his fingers. "Yeah, uh. We're becoming kinda tight." He explained "He's my foster dad."

Raf made an "oh" motion with his lips as he began to set up the game for the two of them. For a moment, the two sat in silence and played. Tyler got the feeling that a lot like him, Raf was a little shy himself. After about round thirteen, the boys set their controllers down and leaned back, relaxing. "You're pretty good for a "rookie"." Tyler turned his head with an arched eyebrow "Bee's words, not mine."

"You can understand him?"

"Only person around here who can, besides the 'Bots." Raf stated with pride "Pretty cool, huh?" Tyler nodded his head "So, what about you? How did you get roped in with..." Raf tilted his head nervously, pushing his glasses further up his nose "Well, y'know. The big guy over there."

Tyler stared over at Breakdown, but felt himself tense up. Explaining how they got to this point required talking about situations he was not ready to talk about to a complete stranger. So for the moment, he simply took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders. "It's... Kind of a long story. But long story shot, he kinda saved my life." He then added "Twice." He then added "What about you?"

Raf chuckled a little, more from irony than anything. "Bee saved my life too." Raf explained "I guess that's kinda their thing, saving people." He shrugged his shoulders.

Tyler didn't doubt that much, knowing that they had saved him that night just as much as Breakdown had. He chewed his lips slightly, and turned to Raf with a look of confusion on his face. "Hey Raf?" Raf turned his head "Do you not go to school or something? Because I mean, you look a little younger than me, and I don't see you at my school." He tilted his head "You're not still in elementary or something, are you?"

Raf shook his head. "Nah, I'm kinda... Really smart. I skipped a few grades, so I'm in high school." Raf explained "I guess you could say I'm kinda a nerd."

Tyler grinned, already knowing from that alone he'd be able to get alone with the boy just fine. Of course, he wasn't as smart as Raf probably was, but they did share the "nerd" and "intelligence" traits. "Ha, I'm a nerd too." He stated "I got it from my dad. He used to work with computers and stuff all the time before..." He paused "Before the accident."

Raf gave an understanding smile, and shook his head. "I'm sorry man."

"It's okay. I was three when it happened." Tyler shrugged "I hardly remember it, or them. Just little details like that."

Raf nodded his head, giving a tentative frown before turning to him. "Well, I bet Fowler makes an awesome dad too." Raf encouraged "I mean what's cooler than a dad who probably has a million top secret government things in his house?" Tyler laughed a bit at that "You'll have to fill me in on anything really cool that you see." He added.

"Even if I got to see that stuff, I couldn't tell you." Tyler replied jokingly.

"Figures."

Tyler grinned from ear-to-ear, liking Raf and his sense of humor already. Taking a deep breath, Tyler leaned forward, and stared over at the boy. "Raf, I think it's pretty easy to say we're gonna get along just fine." He told him "So what do you say, round fourteen?" He questioned, grabbing the controller yet again "I think I'm getting better at it."

"I got a better idea." Raf replied "Do you like computer games?"

"Uh, never played one, why?"

"Want to check out the one I'm making?"

Tyler's interest perked as he scooted closer to the young man, his eyes fixed on the world of the game he was in. Within moments, the two boys were transfixed in codes, games, and programming that would have made most humans confused. But only served to continue the bond between the two youngest human allies, and made both Breakdown and Ratchet smile from the corner of the room. They were definitely thankful, especially, that for the moment, at least, Tyler had a distraction from the events that were weighing on his mind about the weekend.

After all, Tyler would take any calm before the storm that he could get.

...

The court house during the recess that saturday was silent. And though Fowler knew there was a lot of thought going on between everyone inside, he still felt unnerved. The trial itself was nerve-wracking enough, but the toll it was taking on Tyler made it worse. The boy had been nervously gripping his seat all night as they discussed the various ins and outs. And Tyler had been out of the court room faster than either Fowler or Breakdown could even turn and see it. Though Breakdown had wanted to go see if he was okay, Fowler took the job, knowing that Tyler needed another type of comfort right now. Staring down the hallway outside the court room, Fowler carefully made his way towards the young boy, who he found quietly pacing.

"It's gonna be okay, Ty."

Feeling as Fowler gently laid his hands on his shoulders, Tyler stared up at his guardian. The first bit of the day had run smoothly for the opposing side. Well enough that their attorney had asked Tyler to give his statement before the court that day. It was a tense feeling, but they felt that his testimony, coupled with the impact of the video could help tip things more in their favor, and cause the jury to see the accused as less of a beloved police officer, and more of the monster that everyone on the opposing side knew he was.

"I don't know, Bill." Tyler muttered quietly "They want me to go in front of all those people. And I _know _a lot of those people." He managed nervously "And did you _see_ the way that Brody was looking at me?" He crossed his arms "If I go up there, if he still gets off..." He chewed his lip "He's going to do worse than hurt me, Bill. He's going to kill me."

Fowler frowned, and moved forward, doing something that Tyler had not expected. Tyler hadn't been hugged by anyone in a long time, but it was very clear that the man had pulled him into one as soon as his head rested against his stomach. "Hey, that's never going to happen as long as Breakdown and I are still here." Fowler assured him, rubbing his back gently, comfortingly "You know neither one of us is going to let that bastard hurt you."

Tyler was silent, but nodded his head. He slowly found the courage to lean into Fowler's body, accepting his embrace. The hug gave him an unusual feeling: relief, comfort, calmness. Something he remembered feeling a lot around his parents, but could never in recent memory remember feeling. "I'm just scared." Tyler muttered "I don't want to be scared anymore."

"Then don't be." Fowler replied calmly "Just focus on me, or Breakdown, and the man asking the questions." Fowler explained "Tell us the story, no one else in that court room needs to exist." He carefully ran a hand through Tyler's hair "It'll all be over before you know it, I promise."

Tyler stared up at the man slowly as they carefully broke off the hug. He could feel a smile tug at his lips, and his body calming at the thought. It would be hard, but he also knew that no matter if it was now, or later, he would be giving the statement. "Alright... I guess I could try." Tyler traced the floor with his foot "I can do this."

"Yeah, you can." Fowler replied "I have faith in you."

After a moment, Fowler was surprised as the young boy slowly reached his own arms forward. His eyes widened in surprise, nearly taking several moments to register that Tyler had just hugged him. The boy who had so often been afraid of the smallest of touches trusted _him _enough to hug him. As much as it stunned him, he couldn't help but smile. "Thank you." Tyler told him quietly "For being here, for... Me and for the trial." He told him "You're a good guy, Bill."

"Any time."

As Tyler carefully released the man, Fowler's smile remained. And as they headed back into court, Fowler could not shake the warm feeling he had in his heart when Tyler had hugged him. Nor from when he looked at him with the admiration he had. It was a feeling that he thought he'd never feel again, yet there it was again, proving him wrong. And for the first time, he couldn't help but wonder if it was for a reason.

...

A/N: Finally fit in another of the kids meeting! Yay! Anyways, more of the trial next chapter! :) Reviews make my day as always. :)


	18. A Free Boy

**CHAPTER 18  
A Free Boy**

"Now, Tyler, you came to live with your uncle, Brody Larz when you were three years old?"

Tyler barely looked up at the man who was talking to him. He could feel his stomach churning, as his eyes scanned the crowd. He found Fowler's encouraging gaze, noting the nod he gave him, and sighing. "Y-Yes sir. I was almost four though." Tyler explained "But he didn't hurt me back then. Uncle Brody, he didn't start hurting me until I was six."

"What changed then?"

Tyler eyed the prosecutor quietly, timidly twiddling his thumbs. It was clear to the court, whether they believed the accusations then or not, that he was a kid that was beyond hurt. He was scared, timid, he didn't want to be here and that spoke enough volumes. "He couldn't blow off... The money as easily any more." Tyler leaned forward "He got money for taking care of me... And I didn't know back then, but he had been spending it since the day I came." He paused "But when people at school started to notice I was coming there without money or a lunch..." He paused "Brody always got angry when people came around asking questions."

The man nodded his head, and moved. For a brief second, Tyler's eyes locked with Brody's. The man looked like hell, recovering from the beating he'd taken that night as much as Tyler was, and it was showing. "Tyler, I know that we talked about this before." The prosecutor stated calmly "But for the sake of the jury, I want you to tell me how often and _what _he would feed you."

"I-I-" Tyler felt a lump in his throat, staring down at his lap for a moment "He only really fed me once a week... Maybe. If I was "good"." He looked up at him "Most of the time, I was better of getting food on my own. Because the most I ever got to eat was expired junk, maybe a ham sandwich if he was feeling generous." He shook his head "Uncle Brody always ate, steaks, chicken, anything he could get his hands on really." He shook his head "But he said he didn't have the money to feed me anything half as good."

At this point, most of the courtroom looked sick. Some of Brody's own friends on the force among them. More than likely questioning how they could have been so blind to how Brody had been treating him. A series of questions going deeper into the abuse followed. Tyler spoke cautiously about the closet, the beatings, and the verbal abuse. But eventually, it came to the topic he was dreading. "Now, Tyler." The prosecutor cleared his throat "I think it's about time we talked about the events that lead to your removal from the home." He turned towards Breakdown's holoform in the courtroom "Can you please tell the court _why _you called Brandon Downs that night?"

Tyler felt himself cringe at the thought of having to relive that night. "I was scared..." Tyler forced out "I was in bed, and Brody and a friend of his came in. I knew they were drunk... But even when he was drunk..." Tyler shook his head "He was _really _drunk that night. He wanted my locket to pawn off, so he got help from his friend..." He paused.

"His friend, being Roger Henley. A _known_ sex offender who is not even supposed to be within _ten feet_ of a child." The prosecutor asserted.

"Yes sir." Tyler shook his head "Roger had come around before. But he never went near me. But that night... That night, uncle Brody was going to leave me with him. He held me against my bed, and he..." He choked up "He tried to take my clothes off. He would have too if I hadn't elbowed him in the groin too." He shook his head "I just ran, and jumped out the nearest window because I was too scared to run all the way to the front door." He shook his head "I was so scared, and Bre... Brandon was the first person I thought to call."

"And Brandon had no idea what was happening?"

Tyler chewed his lip slightly. "He knew, but he couldn't do anything. He didn't have the proof." Tyler shook his head "He wanted to get me out of there, but we both knew it was pointless." He shook his head "But after that night, Brandon didn't care. He agreed to drive me out of town." He looked at the prosecutor "And take me somewhere where I could start over."

"How did you know you could trust the man?" The prosecutor asked.

Tyler locked eyes with Breakdown, who was half watching, and half glaring daggers at Brody. Tyler took a deep breath. "Brandon cared about me. I don't have a lot of people who do in my life, but he proved that he did." Tyler replied shakily "I knew that if I could trust anyone, it was him." He asserted "Brandon had only ever told me that I could trust him and that he'd protect me." He paused "But when I got home... Brody was waiting for me."

"And that's when he beat you with the bat."

Tyler nodded, his eyes welling up with tears. "The next thing I knew I was on the ground. I could barely breathe, I could barely see." He shook his head "The only thing I remember other than being scared was Brandon leaning over me. Telling me he was going to get me help." He crossed his arms "I didn't even know he had fought with my uncle until my doctor told me."

"So he attacked you with the intent to kill you."

Tyler nodded. "Why else?"

"That's a dirty little frickin' LIE!" Tyler jumped back as Brody slammed his fist on the table, shocking nearly everyone in the courtroom "I never ONCE touched you, I never once tried to give you to my friend! All I ever did was what was best for you!" He scowled, and stared at Tyler with a look that burned through his soul "Tell them the TRUTH boy. Tell him how that freak broke in." He pointed to Breakdown "And how HE beat you like that."

Tyler closed his eyes, uncertain of how to respond to that. When he opened his eyes again, the whole audience had their eyes on him. After sucking in a breath, he found his courage and stood up. "NO." Brody looked stunned "Y-Y-You can't bully me anymore, uncle Brody." He shook his head "People care about me now. I know they can protect me from you." He then stated loudly "I'm not going to tell another lie for you."

"Why you little SHIT!" Brody bellowed, his eyes narrowing "You just wait! They can put me behind bars as long as they want. But so help me God, when I'm out I'm going to do **SO **much worse to you than try to sell you and give you a few bruises and welts." Tyler could see as Fowler, who was near his lawyer, stood to his feet along with Brody "Hide behind whoever you want, but I'll always own you boy. So you DO WHAT I SAY!"

As Brody started to lunge over the table to make his way towards Tyler, he was met with a fist to the face. Tyler could hear his nose crack as he fell back into his chair and onto the ground. The action of punching him in the face was, of course, a gift from one William Fowler. The man shook his hand out a bit, and scowled down at him. "Try saying that again without any teeth." Fowler replied "I've waited to do that since the first time I heard your name."

"He can't do that!" Brody snapped "He's assaulted an officer! ARREST HIM!"

Tyler felt relief when no one made a move towards Fowler. But it was Brody whose expression changed the most quickly. Realization had hit him. He'd just admitted everything to the whole court, he'd just threatened his life in front of everyone. Tyler was asked to leave the stand, and it soon became clear to everyone that there was no longer a defense for the man. In what must have been the quickest trial in Jasper history, the jury's deliberation ended in nearly an hour later. Tyler waited quietly, his eyes snapping up at the man who stood.

"We, the jury, find the defendant Brody Larz, guilty of child abuse, neglect, endangerment, attempted murder, and attempted child prostitution." Tyler felt relief fall over his face "We also find the defendant, Roger Henley guilty of attempted rape, and child abuse."

Fowler set a hand on his shoulder as Tyler felt the tears of relief fill his eyes. It was _over_, they still had the sentencing hearing to go, but due to Brody's own stupidity, he would never have to live in fear again. He was a free boy, open for adoption, and even if he was still in foster care, at the very least, he now knew that Brody would never touch him again. "This court is adjourned, and will reconvene for sentencing in one week's time." The judge spoke up "In the meantime, the rights of Brody Larz for custody over his nephew, Tyler Beers will be permanently severed." He stated.

The bang of the gavel was the most relieving sound Tyler had ever heard. And quite frankly, he looked forward to a week from then, when Brody would be locked away until his eventual death, no doubt. He watched quietly as the man was cuffed, roughly, behind the back. "Let's move it, scumbag." He heard one of his guards tell him coldly "I'm sure your friends in the cell block will be just _dying _to hear the news."

Tyler locked eyes with Brody one more time, before allowing Fowler to lead him away. There was nothing more to be said, or done between the two of them. He had entered the court a scared boy, but left a free man. One who could hold his head up high and say with confidence that his life would finally take a turn for the better from here on out.

...

"I can leave you alone if you want."

"No, I need you here."

Breakdown peered at Tyler calmly as he watched the horizon. The graveyard was empty and secluded enough that being in bipedal mode proved no danger, yet he still felt the need to be weary. Once certain that everything was okay, he slowly approached the burial spot by which Tyler stood. As he looked down upon his young human friend, he could not help but feel a tinge of pride. The boy had braved the storm, and now he was on his way to a life much happier, and safer, than the one he had been in only a month earlier. It felt relieving to know that, despite it all, Tyler had a future now, and a bright one at that.

Yet at the moment, he still appeared vulnerable, as anyone in this situation would have been. Breakdown had never visited his creators resting place, it had always been too hard and sad. But he knew that Tyler needed it, he needed this moment with his parents. And perhaps, somewhere up above, Tyler's parents needed the closure of knowing their son was safe now. "Hey mom, dad." Tyler began as he touched the headstones carefully "I uh... I'm sorry I never visited. Uncle Brody, he never really let me."

Breakdown felt a quiver of anger pass over him at that new bit of information. Yet still, seated himself beside his human friend, and stared at the grave stones as well. "This is my best friend, by the way." Tyler spoke up, staring at him "His name's Breakdown, and he saved my life." He smiled a bit "You'd like him a lot, mom. He has your sense of humor." He twiddled his fingers a bit "And you'd really like my foster dad too. He reminds me of you, dad." He shook his head "I guess it's kind a funny."

"I consider that comment a compliment." Breakdown chuckled.

Tyler smiled up at Breakdown, and leaned against his plating. Tyler shook his head, his eyes leering down at the grass. "I miss you guys so much. It's already been so long... I can barely remember what you looked like sometimes..." He shook his head "It hurts. But sometimes I have dreams and I remember, so I guess it's okay." He shook his head "I wish you could be here... I wish... I wish you hadn't been on the road that night."

Breakdown slowly cupped his hand around Tyler in comfort. Hearing the break in his voice, he knew that it was a sign that even though Tyler didn't voice it, he needed the comfort, and the understanding. Tyler shook his head a bit, allowing himself to tremble slightly. "They freed me yesterday, guys. I don't have to be abused anymore." He explained "I met some nice people. They said they're going to make sure I never have to go through any of that again."

"You both have my word." Breakdown added, more for Tyler's sake than anything else.

Tyler smiled up thankfully at Breakdown, nodding his head. He understood that now, that he had a guardian and a best friend for life. Sure, it wasn't the most conventional friendship, but it was theirs, and now it had time and room to grow. He sat there for a while, just silent, as he watched the two gravestones. Breakdown had a feeling this part of the conversation didn't need to be said, just thought. "I should go now. Bill wants me home for dinner." Tyler explained "I love you guys."

As Tyler kissed both the headstones lightly, Breakdown watched him trudge off. Breakdown could tell this had been harder on the boy than he'd expected. But none-the-less, he also could tell he had needed it. Tyler had deserved to see and talk to his parents. Lingering a moment, Breakdown stood in front of the graves, and bowed his head. "You made a great kid." Breakdown spoke to the two graves "I hope wherever the two of you are... You're as proud of him as I am." He could see Tyler's eyes widen as those words left his lips.

Then Breakdown spoke a silent prayer in Cybertronian, wishing their souls a long, peaceful rest. As he started off towards Tyler, Tyler looked at him. "Breakdown?" Breakdown looked down at the boy silently "Thank you."

Breakdown only smiled, and nodded his head. As he transformed down and let Tyler climb in, he sighed quietly. It had been a long weekend, but it was well worth it for what happened next. For the first time, Tyler's stress levels lowered dramatically, he laid back against the seat. And for the first time since all this madness began, the two of them, Autobot and human alike, felt relaxed.

They arrived back at Fowler's home nearly an hour later, letting Tyler out. Tyler lingered a minute, and turned to Breakdown, a smile on his face. "If you kiss my hood or something, you're going to make me feel awkward." Breakdown stated bluntly "Your thank you and other actions are more than enough." Tyler laughed a little "Go on, squirt. Fowler will probably be waiting with dinner by now."

Tyler put his hands in his pockets, and smiled. "Talk to you before I go to sleep?"

"Don't you always?"

Breakdown watched the boy closely as he quietly entered the house once more. Inside, he watched as Fowler and Tyler sat down to dinner, and began to talk. The way Fowler moved was different now, as was the way he acted. It was more fatherly, more tender, something he recognized immediately. For a minute, he considered this thought. If Fowler was starting to feel that way about Tyler, if he was coming to care about him in a fatherly way... They might both have found a home sooner than they realized.

The thought both intrigued and worried Breakdown all at once. For Tyler, who was now up for adoption, it could mean he would be a part of a family sooner than expected. But the question remained whether or not Fowler would accept Breakdown himself as the family guardian. Would that ultimately be his fate? Fowler family guardian? Tyler's partner? As he let himself drift in his thoughts, he came to a conclusion that he had not expected: It was something that he most definitely get used to.

And so, he would leave it in the hands of the fates, and Primus.

...

A/N: Welp, I've been waiting to write this chapter for a while. You'll find out about Brody and Roger's sentencing next chapter (or more exactly, what it was). But rest assured, this is the last time Brody will appear in the story. He's going to be safely behind bars for a VERY long time. ;)


	19. Talks and Decisions

**CHAPTER 19  
Talks and Decisions**

"Breakdown, why don't you adopt me?"

Breakdown nearly spat out the Energon he was sipping on. His optics turned towards Tyler carefully, and he tried to process the question he'd just been presented with. He couldn't comprehend the fact that Tyler had just turned to him of all people and asked that question. It was true, that, though he hand't admitted it out loud, he had come to the conclusion that he loved Tyler as if he were his own a long while ago. But the list of reasons that side of their relationship could never happen was a mile long by this point.

"Tyler..." Breakdown stated as he set his cube down, and seated himself on a large Transformer-like chair in the Autobot base "You know that I can't adopt you. It wouldn't be right. To you or to me." He shook his his head a bit "The Decepticons would murder any sparkling I had and make me watch." He turned to Tyler "And don't think I could protect you from that either. I've seen it happen. They're good at snuffing out those who traitors hold closest." He explained "If this war were over, it'd be safe. But this is far from the right time for anyone to be joining my family."

Tyler twiddled his thumbs slightly, and Breakdown could tell he was nervous. Even with Breakdown's probationary time, they were looking into families Tyler could be adopted by afterwards. The adoption process was a long one, after all, and Tyler would need to meet, bond with, and choose one at some point during the probation. Unless Breakdown was right, and Tyler ultimately ended up with Fowler, but the two seemed to be a long way off from discussing their feelings. "What if they don't like me though?" Tyler asked "I've never "met" families before."

"It's gonna happen sooner or later." Breakdown asserted "We want you to go to an adoptive home. Not a foster home. Wherever you go next should be a permanent home." He explained "None of them are going to be like Brody. We're going to make sure of that." He paused a moment "So you don't have to go around worrying you won't find a good home with anyone but me, alright?"

Tyler nodded, but still stared away absently. Breakdown could tell that wasn't the real issue, and he also knew the real issue when he looked deep down. Tyler was scared that he wouldn't find a "family" to call his own. Tyler didn't want to be alone, he wanted a family, and thus far, Breakdown and Fowler were the closest he had to it. At least now that Brody was serving four life sentences in prison, with his cell mate, Roger also serving fifty years as dictated by the court. And perhaps that was the other reason Tyler was afraid. It was clear that Fowler had earned his trust, which was hard to obtain. Was it that perhaps he wanted to remain with Fowler, but was afraid the man wouldn't want to adopt him?

Breakdown had never considered that the feeling may work both ways, but it did make sense. "You know, Tyler..." Tyler turned his head towards Breakdown "Fowler holds no contempt for keeping you. It's me he's unsure of." He stood and stepped forward a bit "If you two talked about giving adoption a shot-." He began.

"But I need you too." Tyler replied.

Breakdown sighed, leaning back a bit. He wished silently that he was in the position to adopt Tyler. He couldn't have honestly thought of someone more suited to call his son. But it wasn't in Tyler's best interest, someone like Fowler was. Someone that would accept his relationship with the Autobots, but also be able to give him a safe, and proper life that none of the Autobots, himself included provide. "Do you like Fowler as a father figure, or not, squirt?" Breakdown questioned calmly.

Tyler was silent, but slowly nodded his head, confirming what Breakdown had suspected. The boy leaned forward, and rested his hands under his chin. "I want to stay with Bill. But I don't want to loose you either." Tyler looked up at his friend calmly "And what if Bill doesn't even want me either? I just showed him I trusted him two weeks ago by hugging him." He paused "He hasn't told me anything that exactly screams "I want to adopt you" or anything." He explained.

"You mean besides punching Brody in the face when he threatened you?" Breakdown raised an optic ridge "That seemed like someone who really cares what happens to you to me." Tyler stared down "I'm not saying he's going to want to adopt you right away. But maybe once you tell him you're interested in being a part of his family... You two can start treating your relationship with each other more like that of a father and son." He then added "And I can work on my own relationship with Fowler. That way he might even want me to stick around." He then added "After all, adoption takes a long time, Tyler. We have plenty of time."

Tyler rubbed his arm slightly, nervous. "You think that Bill really would be okay with giving me a shot to be his son?" Tyler asked "Even on a trial basis?" He asked.

"You'll never know if you never ask."

Breakdown watched the boy quietly, knowing that he was scared. To tell the truth, he didn't blame him. Asking someone about their prospective interest in adopting him into their family was a big deal. Yet, he also knew that it had to be done, by either himself, or by Fowler, as it was clear that the two were growing closer. Tyler stood to his feet, and nodded his head. "Fine, I'll talk to him." Tyler breathed out "I just... I hope you're right."

As Breakdown rested his finger on the boy's shoulder, he silently hoped he was right too.

...

"Yeah, I know this was supposed to be done last week." Fowler groaned "But I promise, I'll have it done tomorrow." He paused "No, I had more important things to focus on, actually. Yeah, I'm sort of talking family issues." He looked over silently as the door opened to Tyler "Hey, Bronson, can I call you back?"

Tyler opened his mouth to stop him before Fowler hung up. The man sighed, leaning back in the chair behind his desk silently. Tyler could feel his body tense in fear, unsure of if he had come at the right time or not. "Sorry, I should have knocked." Tyler managed "If you need to take that call... I'll come back later."

"Actually, you saved me a lecture I'd rather not sit through." Fowler grunted "What's up little buddy?"

As his guardian gestured at the seat in front of him, Tyler quietly took it. He sat there for a moment, staring off into space and trying to think of his next words. How did someone even approach a man with the question he proposed? It almost seemed like a desperate effort in Tyler's mind, yet he knew there was hardly a way of going back now. Taking a deep breath, he stared at Fowler. "The other day, in the hall." He bit his lip "When I... Hugged you. And you hugged me." He paused "Did you... I mean... Was that?"

"I was trying to comfort you." Fowler explained "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable if I did."

"No, no. It's not that."

There was silence between them at that point, neither sure what to say. But eventually, it was Tyler who found his voice again, raising his eyes to look at him again. "I just... Brody's gone now, and I'm free for adoption, y'know. And people are talking about adoptive homes for me to go to." Tyler was silent "But I've been thinking about the other day. About how you held me made me feel." He leaned back "I just... I don't know."

Fowler took in the words that Tyler was, at the very least _trying _to say. It came as a shock to him that Tyler would approach him, of all people, with this feeling. Not that he hadn't enjoyed Tyler's company, as he very much had. But the fact of the matter was that he hadn't been a father in a long time. And now here was a boy that needed one, and who clearly was interested in him being it. "You do realize, Ty that I lost custody of my last kid." Fowler shook his head "They didn't find me a good father then. So I might not be right for you now."

"But you care about me." Tyler replied "You and Breakdown make me feel like I mean something to somebody."

"You _do _mean something to me." Fowler replied "Whether I'm your father or not, don't think that isn't true."

Fowler stood from his chair, and moved towards the chair Tyler was seated in. He rubbed the back of his head slightly, and after a moment, turned to Tyler. The boy looked dejected, a sight which Fowler didn't like to see. "Kid, I haven't said "no"." Fowler added "But if we put you from "foster only" to "foster to possibly adopt" that's a big step." Fowler seated himself on the side of the desk, and stared at him "There are a lot of other families we're looking at..."

"I understand." Tyler stood to his feet "It was stupid of me to ask this early. I'm sorry."

As Tyler started towards the door, Fowler frowned. Looking thoughtfully at the back of Tyler's head, he took in the idea. If Tyler really liked living with him, what was the problem with giving it a shot? But on the other hand, he had to think about himself as well. Was he ready to start treating the boy less like a charge, and more like a son? Was he ready to treat anyone like that? He sighed, rubbing the temples of his forehead. "Tyler..." Fowler spoke up "Wait just one second there."

Tyler stopped in his tracks, and turned towards Fowler quietly. "Really, it's okay. It was a long shot anyway." Tyler explained.

Fowler shook his head a bit, walking forward, and placing his hands on his shoulders. Making sure that Tyler wasn't going to run out on him, he stared down at the boy. "You're really ready for someone to start treating you like their son?" Fowler questioned "Keep in mind, I'm a tough parent sometimes. Tougher than I can be as a guardian." He shook his head "And I'm a bit of a hugger when it comes to my kids too."

"Can we take that last part a little slower?" Tyler asked.

"Of course." Fowler replied "You're really okay with this?"

"Should I not trust you?" Tyler asked.

Fowler shook his head, rubbing the boy's shoulders gently, he let a smile cross his face. "You know you can." He spoke up "You want to try the whole father-son thing? It's okay with me." He then added "I'll have to do some talking with your social worker to get your status with me revised. But I think we can work it out." He explained.

"And if it does lead to... Adoption." Tyler turned around "Can Breakdown stay with us?"

Fowler opened his mouth, but closed it after a moment. The man crossed his arms and looked thoughtfully at the boy. Keeping a former Decepticon was a commitment all of its own, at least while they didn't know each other well. "We'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it." Fowler sighed quietly "But I'm sure we'll work something out."

Tyler smiled, and nodded up at the man. "Yeah, we'll work it out." Tyler replied, taking a deep breath "Well, I uh.. Should probably let you get back to work." Fowler smiled a bit, tilting his head "Y'know, go play a round or two with Bee and Raf. I think they're actually kinda waiting for me right now." He shrugged his shoulders "See you later?"

"Be sure to fit your homework somewhere in there." Fowler replied "You still have that math homework due, remember?"

Tyler sighed quietly, but nodded his head in response. As he waved goodbye and disappeared out the door, Fowler settled back into his seat. It was going to be odd, even being just a more "fatherly" figure to someone for the first time in so long. He wasn't even sure that he'd be any good at it anymore, and maybe he wouldn't. But he was willing to give it a chance, just as much as Tyler seemed to be. And the idea _did _excite him. Before, he was simply more of a "guardian" to Tyler. But now he had the boys permission to treat him more in a way that leaned towards family.

The process to a serious familial relationship would probably be slow. And it would take them both some time to adjust to the idea. But inside, deep down, Fowler knew that somehow, the idea felt right.

...

A/N: A little on the shorter side, but I thought it was best left there. Hope you guys enjoyed it! :)


	20. Choices

**CHAPTER 20  
Choices**

"Stupid! Malfunctioning! MACHINES!"

"You know if you punch that thing any harder you're going to break it."

Fowler frowned as he stared down at the radio of Breakdown's vehicle mode before grunting. It had been the third swipe at the drive-thru ATM and quite frankly, he had had enough of it. Sighing, he set his credit card back in his wallet, and leaned back. "You know, just because we're getting used to you driving me around doesn't mean I need your snark all the time." Fowler grunted "I was about to give up anyway."

"Sure you were, Fowler." Breakdown snorted.

Fowler grunted, grimacing a little at the snideness in the mech's voice. He had agreed to spend some quality time with Breakdown on Tyler's request, but so far, most of it had been snarky comments between the two. Fowler felt bad on that end, given he did like the kid, and wanted to give adopting him a try if he were able. But he was well aware that he and Breakdown were probably a package deal, and that meant he had to try to somehow get along with the ex-Decepticon. "Look, I want to adopt Tyler. You want him to have a good life with a loving family." Fowler explained "So we're going to have to try and make this work."

"What has that got to do with it?" Breakdown questioned.

"Because if we can't get along now, how do you expect us to get along for at least the next five years?" Fowler replied bluntly, to which Breakdown went silent "C'mon, there's got to be some common ground we can find." He paused quietly "You were an orphan right? So don't you know that it has to works on the part of all parties for it to-."

"I was never adopted." Breakdown stated bluntly "I'm the wrong person to ask to understand how this works."

Fowler was silent, leaning back in his seat quietly. There was no common ground there, given he had grown up in a huge family between his many siblings, aunts, and uncles. "Sorry, I uh... Tyler never told me that part." Fowler explained "So, you and Bulkhead... Neither one of you?" The silence answered it all, Fowler sighed quietly "How much longer until we have to pick Tyler up from school?"

"Three hours."

_Perfect. _Fowler thought frustratedly.

Fowler tried once again to get the ATM to work, this time succeeding, and pocketed the money into his spare wallet. He'd decided to keep two ever since he'd gotten Tyler, one for his regular cash, and one for the money he got from the state. Unlike most, Fowler wasn't in it for the money, and if he had gotten them mixed up, he would have felt terrible. "So, Tyler's running a little low on clothing." Fowler explained "You think we can swing by the mall so I can go pick up some stuff for him?"

"Why does he need more clothes?"

"He's grown a couple of inches." Fowler explained "Pretty soon all his clothes will be too small on him."

"Gonna use the money from the state?"

"I think I can afford to buy them myself on my salary."

Breakdown sighed as he pulled out of the parking lot, driving down the road. It was his turn to think up a topic, and he was drawing blanks. After all, he still didn't know Fowler all that well, Tyler knew him better. But luckily, it was Fowler who spoke next, bringing up a conversation. "You know, I know what you're going through." Fowler explained "I had to gain the trust of the 'Bots too. And even then, I only got it recently."

"But you're the liaison."

"You didn't see me when I first got stuck with them." Fowler leaned back "This whole job ruined my marriage. You can say I wasn't exactly happy to have it." He shook his head "It's not really the exact same, but-."

"Duck and cover."

"Huh?"

As Fowler found himself thrown from Breakdown's vehicle form and onto the pavement, he quickly saw why. It was hard to miss a large fighter jet in broad daylight, let alone flying overhead towards the city. Quietly, he cursed, and thanked God that they were in a less populated part of town. This one was going to be hard to explain to the superiors if word got out in masses. "Starscream." Breakdown growled "I thought I smelled a rat."

As Starscream transformed before the two of them, he smirked. "I'd choose your next words carefully, _traitor_." Starscream replied, tilting his head "I want to keep this as civil as possible. But if you continue to throw insults I may just blow your cover right here and now." He explained with a chuckle "Don't forget, I know the reason why you've disappeared off the face of the planet."

"Tyler..."

"Has been unharmed for now." Starscream replied "Megatron doesn't even know he exists yet."

Breakdown took in the emphasis on the word "yet", grimacing a bit. "What do you want?"

Starscream raised an optic ridge a bit, chuckling lightly. "You think I want something? Must everything come with a catch?" He questioned, Breakdown's optics only narrowed in response "Very well, I want you to come to your senses and come back. You do remember our deal, don't you?" He paused a moment "I can only keep your secret for so much longer."

"Blow it." Breakdown replied "Because if any of you touch Tyler..."

"Oh we will, Breakdown." Starscream replied "You know that he and your other... Pet, will be the first thing Megatron comes for." He turned to Fowler with a wicked grin "It's nice to see you again, Agent Fowler."

Breakdown made a quick move to put himself between Fowler and the Decepticon. It was the first time Fowler had seen Breakdown in action like this, but it managed to surprise him. Why wasn't Breakdown even listening to him? Why did he seem to stand up for him. "If you're going to threaten my partner or his guardian. You'd better have the reproductive chamber to back it up." Breakdown stated bluntly "Because you're asking for a thrashing that there's no onlining from."

"You really have softened up." Starscream cackled "That's rich."

The fist that connected with Starscream's face caught the seeker off guard. Sitting up from his daze, he stared up at Breakdown as the mech leered down upon him. "You wanna say that again, Screamer? Or would you rather I just offline you here and now and save us all the trouble?" He questioned "Because I've had enough of scumbags like you lately."

"You'd only delay them." Starscream explained "Sooner or later, Knock Out will look for you." He took a few steps forward "Save him the grief, grab the liaison and let's leave right now. He'll make a worthy hostage and we can leave this whole thing behind us." He stated, taking a few steps forward.

Breakdown cringed at the thought of what his best friend's reaction would be. It hurt him to think of the betrayal he'd feel. He could feel the temptation tugging at him, to go back, to be with his best friend. He looked at Fowler, who he had done nothing but argue with that day. Would it get any easier? Would he ever really be able to stay with him and Tyler? "Breakdown." Fowler began.

But Breakdown made his decision with the shot of cannon fire that hit Starscream dead on in the chest. The seeker felt pain sear through him, surprise filling his optics. Breakdown glared at the Decepticon, his optics filled with determination. "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time, _Decepticreep_." Breakdown stated firmly "If _any _of you lay a hand on either of them, I'll make sure you're in so many pieces not even the creator will tell who you are." He added "Wanna take another step towards Agent Fowler again? Honestly, give me a reason to fire again."

Starscream's optics stared wide up at Breakdown. The mech was hovering over him with his cannon glowing and humming, almost as if daring him just as much as the mech had. Behind Breakdown, Fowler looked just as stunned, but for different reasons entirely. "I tried to help you, Breakdown." Starscream hissed quietly "You could have left and they'd have left the boy alone."

"You don't actually think I buy that do you?" Breakdown questioned bluntly.

Starscream stood slowly, taking a few steps back. "You'll regret this."

As Starscream transformed and flew off without another word, Breakdown sighed quietly. He knew that his secret was blown now. Before the end of the day, the Decepticons would know the truth. But there was no avoiding that, at some point or another, it was bound to happen. And today had happened to be that day. "Breakdown..." The mech turned to Fowler "But... Why?"

Breakdown carefully subspaced his cannon, and smirked a bit. "You all need to realize that I'm not a Decepticon anymore. My allegiance is to Optimus Prime, Tyler, and you." He looked down at the man "And I will protect both you and Tyler with my life. Even if we don't exactly get along, that makes you no less my partner. Maybe not on the same level as Tyler, but-."

"I getcha." Fowler replied "Thanks."

The two stared at each other, and deep down inside, Fowler had gained a great deal of respect from him in that moment. For the first time, he had shown Fowler just how deep his new loyalties ran. It spoke volumes to see him not only give a blunt "no" to returning to the Decepticons, but threaten Starscream in return for threatening himself. "Don't mention it." Breakdown stated "Actually do, because maybe it'll make some of the less open-minded 'Bots open their optics."

Fowler couldn't help but chuckle, and realize for the first time that maybe, just maybe this would work out after all.

...

Tyler rested his head against his bed silently. It was another night that he couldn't bring himself to sleep. He'd had only a handful of these types of nights since the trial, but even then, it seemed as though he would never get rid of the annoying little moments. Carefully peering out the window, he found Breakdown outside his window, as usual. In his mind, he wondered how Breakdown was faring right now. He'd been told of what had happened, and with his secret out, most of his old "friends" were bound to hate his guts. Something Tyler had not thought through when he had convinced him to switch sides. As he went deep into thought, he couldn't look back at the vehicle, feeling a tinge of guilt.

Quietly, he wondered if the ex-Decepticon was regretting his decision right now. But his own logical side answered it for him. Breakdown had protected Fowler from Starscream, something he wouldn't have done if he had begun to regret it. "Can't sleep?" Tyler jumped, turning to see the mech now outside his window "Another nightmare?"

"More like guilt." Tyler stated "You always said the Decepticons were like the family you never got to have." Breakdown frowned at that "I guess I just thought you could keep it a secret forever. But now that they know... I mean, it's like you lost a family all over again." Breakdown looked away at that, frowning even more "I'm surprised you don't resent me for being on that sidewalk that day."

Breakdown stared at Tyler, shaking his head slowly. He reached into the open window slightly, moving him out of his bed and onto his palm. He was careful to move him to his chest, near the spark as the boy was only dressed in pajamas and would need the warmth. "Ty, this was my decision, made by me. Not on account of anyone else." He explained "And I sure as frag don't resent you for it."

Pulling his arms around his body, Tyler sighed quietly. The boy seemed to be deep in his own thoughts before looking back up at his guardian. The look in his eyes was unreadable, though Breakdown could tell he had not fully cleared his conscious. "But I'm the reason you just left all your friends behind." Tyler explained "I mean I know there were other reasons. But if I hadn't gotten you into this whole situation-"

"I'd still be working for a psychopath to conquer a race worth saving." Breakdown finished for him "I'm glad I left the Decepticons, honestly, I'd have learned this the hard way either way." He shook his head a bit "Probably after we conquered all of you, if we did. And then I would feel guilty." He looked down at Tyler "And besides, you and Fowler make a much better makeshift "family" than they did."

Tyler shifted a bit, leaning against Breakdown's chestplate silently. The boy sighed, and looked out into the sky, smiling a little. He was glad that the mech considered him, and to a lesser extent, Fowler, his small makeshift "family". It felt good to know that someone other than Fowler had started to look at him that way. And it also helped sift away some of the guilt he ultimately felt. "What about Knock Out?" Tyler looked up "Won't you-."

"Can we not talk about that yet?" Breakdown asked "That's still a sore subject."

Tyler nodded a bit as Breakdown carefully ran circles along the boy's back. He shuddered a bit as he imagined how Knock Out may have felt right now. Did he hate him? He guessed that he didn't, but he couldn't help but worry that was so. Though he still held out hope that perhaps, Knock Out may see what he did and join the Autobot cause as well. He snorted inwardly at his own thinking, which he deemed strange when it came to the medic. "Do you think they'll really come for me?" Tyler asked.

Breakdown stared down, and held Tyler even closer to him in a protective manner. It was a terrifying mental image for him. The idea of Tyler being held hostage by his former "friends" and used as a bargaining chip against him. The mere thought of what they may do to him to get him to co-operate with returning nearly killed him alone. "Over my offlined slagging chasis." Breakdown reaffirmed "They can try, but I'll protect you with my last breath."

"I hope you don't have to."

Breakdown was silent, but nodded his head in response. "So do I, squirt." He told him gently "But if it comes to a fight, so be it."

Tyler yawned quietly, but nodded his head. Inside, he hoped that the mech wouldn't do anything too bad to protect him. Let alone the implication of "dying" to protect him. But he also accepted that it was a figure of speech, and with any luck, he wouldn't even be put in that position. "Breakdown?" The mech looked down "I'm glad that you don't resent it." He then added "I can't even imagine life without you anymore."

Breakdown was silent, but oddly enough, the same went for him. Life before he met and befriended Tyler seemed almost like a distant memory now. So much time had passed and now he was an Autobot, they were partners. And it almost seemed like things had always been that way, if only those memories weren't there. "Me either, buddy." Breakdown smiled "Now come on, you're falling asleep on me here. Think you can stop worrying long enough to make it through the rest of the night?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Breakdown carefully settled Tyler back onto the boy's bed. Pulling the sheets and blankets over him, he let his gaze linger on the boy. His thumb carefully ran along his spine yet again, even though he had nearly passed out the moment he hit the bed. It was strange how much such a small reassurance could help him. But then again, he knew that Tyler had known his answers deep down. He just needed to hear it himself. "I promise you Tyler." Breakdown whispered quietly "No matter what happens, I'll never let them hurt you."

It was a promise that Breakdown swore to himself he would _never _break.

...

A/N: Yep, after a lot of thought, I decided it WAS time for the Decepticons to know the truth. :)


	21. Check-Ups and Introductions

**CHAPTER 21  
Check-Ups and Introductions**

"So about meeting my family on Saturday."

Tyler looked up at Fowler slowly as he leaned back in Breakdown's drivers seat. It was an odd sight, but since the incident with Starscream, the government agent had actually taken to driving, or rather, riding in the former-Decepticon. It made Tyler feel good, to have someone like Fowler waiting for him after school. Sure he had always had Breakdown waiting for him, but Fowler was the "guardian" he always talked about and it felt good to have him there. "How much do they know about me?" Tyler asked.

"I've told them a lot. My parents are thrilled that they might be getting another grandchild." Fowler shook his head a bit "They're all pretty excited to meet you, kid. But I wanted to make sure that you were still okay with it." He leaned over, and pulled an arm around Tyler's shoulders "I know you were pretty nervous when I first told you about it."

Tyler shifted a bit, not sure how to respond to his guardian's question. Was he nervous? Beyond words. But he still wanted to meet what could be his future family. He sighed quietly, and nodded his head a little bit. "I am a little nervous. I've never really had a "family" beyond my uncle." Tyler explained "I guess I'm just more worried that they won't like me." He paused a minute "You know I'm pretty shy and all."

Fowler smiled, and patted the boys shoulder gently. "They're going to love you, kid. You've managed to make Breakdown and I like you. I don't know why this would be much harder." He paused a moment, smiling a bit "Right Breakdown?"

"I don't know your family, so I can't really-."

"_Right, Breakdown_?" Fowler reaffirmed

Breakdown knew that Fowler wanted him to be encouraging. But at the same time, had never been that great at these sorts of things. Meeting potential "families" had always been the hardest part of being an orphan. Yet giving a rev of his engines lightly, Breakdown replied in earnest. "Of course it'l be easy, you're a likable kid." He then added "Besides, I'll be in the vicinity, I am your ride after all." He then added "Until all of this slag gets handled at least."

"You're welcome to come meet my family too, y'know."

There was silence from the mech for a long moment, and then he sighed. "I'll think about it." Breakdown explained "I've never been good in family functions either, Fowler. Ty has a shot to learn, but I'm too old to change my methods." He then added "And trust me, the first person that snarked at me, or made a strange comment-."

"C'mon you're a grown mech, you can handle a couple of hours." Fowler replied "I want you both there. I can introduce you as a friend of the family." Fowler patted his dashboard carefully.

As Breakdown took that in, he groaned quietly. He knew that Fowler was being nice, or at least that was what he had guessed. Yet he knew that there was no way out of it. And moreover, his presence would likely help Tyler to feel far more comfortable about the situation. "Fine, but I warned you ahead of time." Breakdown stated as he arrived in the Autobot base, letting them both out as he transformed "If I'm hopelessly anti-social don't get frustrated with me. I just... Am not good at the whole social hour thing."

"I'm sure you'll both be fine." Fowler explained "Anyway, I have work to get to. Get that homework done this time, Tyler. No more slacking on that project that's due next week."

"Yes, sir."

As Fowler stepped away, Tyler sighed quietly, putting his hands in his pockets. Breakdown could tell the boy was still greatly nervous, and that much was a given, being Tyler seemed to be a naturally nervous person at times. "Hey." Breakdown crouched to the young human slowly "You're going to do great, okay? Fowler's right, you have a way of being likable." He nudged the boy carefully "And on the off chance they don't like you? Fowler's not going to change how he feels about you."

"You don't think so?"

"Not for a minute." Breakdown explained "Trust me kid, you're gonna be just fine." He then added "Now, what do you say we go check on Ratchet. You have a check-up, and I have a training session." He carefully held out his palm, allowing Tyler to climb on "If you're lucky, maybe Ratchet will let you be my first human patient." He explained.

"Can I request someone else?"

Breakdown flicked the point lightly, but chuckled all the same. He carefully deposited him on his usual perch on his right shoulder and started for the med bay. They found Ratchet working with some tools, which was no surprise. "Alright, set him on the berth." Ratchet spoke up, not even turning around to face them "How are you feeling today, Tyler? The cast doing it's job well enough?"

"Yeah, it's feeling better." Tyler replied.

Ratchet immediately turned to give a scan, and nodded his head slowly. "I believe the fractured bone is healed, so allow me to take your cast off." Ratchet explained "As for your broken ribs, they appear to be healing at a slower rate. I will need to inject some more of our drugs into your bone marrow." He explained calmly "Take off your shirt for me please, Tyler."

"I hate needles."

"Would you rather be in constant pain?" Ratchet questioned "Broken ribs are known to be excruciating."

A long moment passed before Tyler exposed his body. It was still scarred, and the sight still made Breakdown and Ratchet both cringe. But there was a certain comfort in knowing that the man who did it was now suffering behind bars. Though Tyler felt the pain of the injection, he quickly found the effects to be near-instant, as the pain that had been his ribs since that morning slowly subsided. "That's crazy. I didn't realize that's how you fixed my ribs." Tyler added "Why not my arm?"

"Larger bones. Much harder." Ratchet explained as he carefully used a laser to cut off the cast "THAT would cause you far more pain than I could subside." He sighed quietly, placing the small needle on the table beside Tyler "I'm giving Fowler more of those painkillers, take one whenever the pain becomes unbearable and not a second sooner." He then added "Now scat, I have to train your partner here how to administer shots."

"Not on me?"

"I said scat, didn't I?" Ratchet questioned.

Breakdown rolled his optics as Tyler made his way out of the med bay. Breakdown crossed his arms slightly, and Ratchet turned to him. "How's he doing psychologically?" Ratchet questioned "The nightmares getting any better?"

"Less and less every night." Breakdown sighed "Fowler's signed him up to see a psychologist. He has his first meeting with her next week." He shrugged his shoulders "Hoping that'll help him get through it. Because even if he has less of them, they're not getting any less violent." Ratchet frowned slightly "I'm worried the deal with Starscream isn't helping him out either."

"He has you to defend him. He has nothing to worry about on that end." Ratchet then added "He'll be even better off if you know how to heal him on the battlefield this way." He prepared their supplies quietly "But I am glad to hear that plans have been made to help him out." He turned to Breakdown slowly "Now tell me, do you at the very least know what a syringe is?"

At the shake of his head, Ratchet only let out an annoyed sigh. Already, Breakdown could tell it was going to be a long session from that alone.

...

"Remember, just be yourself."

Tyler looked up at Fowler quietly as they stepped out of Breakdown with the mech's holoform behind them. The teenager had spent most of the car ride into California keeping to himself, focusing on the football that Fowler had tossed him. Even now, Tyler found himself tossing it up and down, staring out into the park and the large family that he guessed was Fowler's that ware setting up some seats a few feet away. "Okay. If you say so." Tyler explained "Can you go in first, though?"

Fowler smiled a bit, and pulled an arm around Tyler. "We'll go together."

Breakdown too stared thoughtfully over at the family. "Maybe I should stay behind." Breakdown replied "That is-."

"Both of you need to relax." Fowler told them both calmly "Come on."

Breakdown lingered back by the car for a moment, watching as the two stepped away. Yet again, he felt awkward imposing upon Fowler's family get-together. As a possible future member of the family, Tyler belonged there. But he was a stranger, simply there because he was their guardian, and he didn't feel as though he belonged. And yet still, he found himself following the two, not wanting to insult Fowler, or his family, by not appearing to have shown up. "Well look who finally showed up!" A tall, burly man with grey hair shouted as Fowler and Tyler approached "Kept us waiting long enough."

"Traffic." Fowler chuckled "We're both late risers too."

Immediately, the man pulled Fowler into a hug, separating him form Tyler. The boy stood a good distance, not wanting to get in the way. "It's good to see you son." The man, who was undoubtedly Fowler's father, spoke up "Your mother and I have missed you, you need to come by more often." His attention then turned to Tyler "And you must be young Tyler Beers."

"Hi, Mr. Fowler." Tyler held out his hand "It's nice to meet you."

Immediately, Tyler was pulled into a hug, without warning. The man chuckled, and after a moment, let go. "None of this "Mr. Fowler" nonsense. It's grandpa." The man spoke up "I'd tell you to call me Perry, but that doesn't seem right. Seeing as all the other grandkids call me "Grandpa"." He then added "I expect the same from you, got it?"

Tyler turned his head to look up at Fowler, as if for approval. With a smile, Fowler nodded his head in response. "A-Alright grandpa." Tyler smiled sheepishly "It's still nice to meet you. Bill's told me a lot about you." Tyler explained, chewing his lip slightly "Thanks for inviting me along." He added.

"Every Fowler's invited son." Perry replied, turning his head "But it's a pleasure to finally meet you too." He could see the glint in Tyler's eyes and the smile that followed "And this man is...?"

Fowler turned, having nearly forgotten that Breakdown had followed them. "Sorry, dad. This is "Brandon", he's a close friend of mine. From work." Fowler only semi-lied "You know, the one we talked on the phone about."

"How's it going?"

Breakdown held out his hand slowly, to which Perry gave him a handshake. He smiled a bit, nodding his head in response. "One of your "special" friends." Perry hinted, Breakdown's optics widened "Don't look so surprised. I was a government official as well, I was one of the first to get to meet you guys." He put his hands on his hips "How do you think Billy was lucky enough to get the job as liaison in the first place?"

"Well, that'll make this whole thing much easier." Breakdown replied "I'm sorry for intruding on your festivities."

"Don't be." Perry waved a hand at him "You're protecting my son, I want to thank you for that. So please, enjoy your time here. For the day, our family, is your family." Breakdown allowed himself to smile slightly in response to that "Now, Tyler. I don't believe you've had the pleasure of meeting any of your new family yet, have you?"

"No sir." Tyler replied, as Perry looked down at him firmly he corrected himself "Sorry. No, grandpa, I haven't."

Perry chuckled, pulling an arm around Tyler's shoulders gently. Tyler could see a couple of boys around his age, and younger, playing nearby, and Perry nodded. Patting the boy on the back gently. "Vera, your grandma will want to meet you first. But as soon as that's done, I'll introduce you to your cousins." He then added "I saw you brought the football. They love it. And I'm sure your uncles and father will be quick to get a game going after lunch."

"I've never played before." Tyler replied.

"That's okay, we'll teach you." Perry noted.

As the older man led Tyler towards the lunch table, Breakdown smiled. Tyler had undoubtedly worried about meeting Fowler's family for nothing. If they were all like Perry, Tyler would be a full-fledged member of the family before he was even legally adopted. "Well then." Breakdown snorted "Your sire is a rather loving and accepting man." He then added "Already having Tyler call him "grandpa"."

"That's pops for you." Fowler replied with a grin "They're all like that. By the end of the day, Tyler's liable to be best friends with all of them."

Breakdown chuckled, and Fowler nodded his head towards the table. "C'mon. You need to meet the rest of the clan too. And don't go saying "no" again. You're a guest, accept it, be social." Breakdown smirked at that "Being serious all the time can't be good for your health." He then added "And trust me, I know, because I was the same way up until-."

"Yeah, I get it, Fowler." Breakdown chuckled "Let's get this over with."

Breakdown could hope that at the very least, he might understand the man better by the end of the day. As scary as it was to be back in a situation like this, he knew it could happen now, or later, and it was best to get it over with. "Primus, just don't let me make a fool out of myself." He whispered into the air, taking a deep breath.

Something told him though that everything would be just fine.

...

A/N: Major bonding time for Tyler, Fowler, and Breakdown coming your way next chapter, along with more of Fowler's family! :)


	22. Family

**CHAPTER 22  
Family**

Tyler felt like a fish out of water for the first ten minutes or so of the meeting. Fowler's family was nice, and much like Perry, Vera had insisted on being called "grandmother" immediately. But he still felt that small tinge of fear at the thought of meeting anyone other than the two of them. His "uncles" were currently a few feet away, talking and catching up over a beer, while his "aunt" was sunbathing on the grass nearby as well. His "cousins" on the other hand were running around like madman in their play, laughing loudly.

He'd never been to a family gathering before, but he already knew it was utter chaos. "They don't bite, y'know." Tyler turned to Vera, who gave a warm smile in response "And you don't bite either, do you?" Tyler shook his head "Then why don't you go join in? I'm sure there's room for one more." She nudged him gently "Wasn't grandpa going to introduce you?" She questioned as she winked up at Perry.

Tyler smiled at the kind older woman, she certainly wasted no time in warming up, he had noticed. Much like Perry, she seemed to be of the welcoming sort and to have wanted him there. That was an odd feeling, one that he had not had outside of being with Fowler, Breakdown, or the Autobots. And as a result it was a feeling that Tyler would have to adjust to being around them. "I uh... I'm just a little nervous I guess." Tyler explained "I mean they've known each other their whole lives and I'm-."

"Not true." Perry spoke up "Scott over there was adopted at age five." He pointed carefully to one of the boys, who had fallen, and was laughing near the hill "He was just as nervous as you were. But all it took was a couple of hours." He shook his head a bit "Come on, Ty. I'll introduce you and then you can just get playing." he then stated "That way we can talk to your father, and Brandon."

Tyler nodded, allowing Perry to lead him over. He felt his hands tremble a bit. Sure there was another adopted kid in the family, but what did it matter really? Maybe Scott was a cooler kid than he was. For all he knew he was going to just be the nerdy tag along among the cousins. "Boys!" Perry shouted before he could pull away, the boys quickly looked over "This is Tyler. He's your uncle Bill's new son." Tyler wanted to correct him with the word "foster son", but refrained for fear of objection "Why don't you show him how the Fowler boys have fun?"

Tyler looked down, his cheeks growing red as Perry left him at that point. The oldest boy, who was a little older than him, made his way forward, grabbing the football from him. "Aw, sweet, uncle Bill brought the football." He grinned "I'm Mitchell by the way." He then went down the line of four boys "That's Scott." He pointed to the young Asian-American boy that he had seen earlier "Joe." He pointed next to a boy that looked to be Tyler's age himself "And Tanner." He finally pointed to the youngest, who smiled and waved.

"It's nice to meet you guys." Tyler gulped slightly "Grandpa said you guys could maybe teach me how to play football?" He questioned "I uh... I never really was any good at sports. But I'm willing to give it a try."

Mitchell smiled, and nodded his head, tossing Tyler the football. Tyler was surprised there was no judging on the "not knowing how to play" end, but felt himself sighing in relief. "Sure thing, new guy. We'll take it easy. Scott, you're the one who plays high school football, so you should teach him the basics first." Mitchell stated "Then we'll pick teams and get this started."

Scott smiled and nodded, making his way towards Tyler calmly. "Hey. Don't worry, you'll learn fast." The teenager told him gently, placing a hand on his shoulder "I was scared my first time here too. Especially when it came to football." He took the football carefully "You're going to have fun though. We're all excited to have a sixth member. It evens out the games." He then added "So come on, we'll toss around a little and then it'll be game time."

"A-Alright." Tyler smiled shyly "Sure, it'll be fun."

As Mitchell began to show Tyler the ropes, Breakdown watched from his seat. Within minutes, Tyler was laughing, enjoying himself. It was such an odd sight to see the giant smile Tyler had, but it made his spark warm up. "Looks like they're going to make fast friends." Breakdown smirked, turning to Fowler "I think he made the right choice of family here, Fowler." He shook his head "This is something I could have never given him."

"Don't you have family, Brandon?"

Breakdown was silent, his eyes turned to look at Vera as he shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Vera. I lost my creators not long after I was born." Breakdown admitted quietly "My childhood was spent in an orphanage. And while they were like a family to me, the fact remains I will never know what a family like this feels like." He shook his head a little bit.

Vera was silent, but nodded her head, patting his holoform's hand gently. It was an act that no one had done to him in a long time, that of comfort, understanding. Breakdown had almost forgotten what those two emotions were like. "Me too, Brandon." Vera stated calmly "They found me on the doorstep when I was just six weeks old." She looked at him "You can consider us your family, if you'd like. There's always room for more with us."

Breakdown stared at the woman with a look of pure shock. But after a moment, he simply nodded his head and smiled in response. "Thank you, Vera. I believe I will." He looked at Fowler who just seemed to sit and chuckle "Don't be laughing that makes me your honorary brother." Fowler's eyes bulged "Is that a scary enough thought for you?"

Fowler grunted, and stood to his feet, watching as the kids began a game of tag football. He was thankful that they didn't tackle in their games, knowing the episodes it could cause in Tyler. Breakdown merely stood to his feet too, making his way forward, and looking at Fowler. "You should get your brothers to join the game." Fowler turned "I bet Tyler would enjoy it."

"Let him go a few rounds with the kids." Fowler shook his head "Don't want to throw the entire family onto him at once."

Breakdown nodded his head in understanding, staring at him calmly. Fowler took a deep breath, staring over at his brothers and sister for a moment. "Hey, come on. I'll introduce you to the rest of the clan." He nodded over at the group "Just don't make me look too ridiculous, okay?" Breakdown's eyes narrowed "I was kidding, jeez, get a grip." He rolled his eyes in response.

For a moment, Breakdown simply stood there when Fowler made his way towards his siblings. He didn't like the idea of pushing his way into the group. Yet he also knew that either way, Fowler or his parents would drag him over. With one last look over at the young boys, he made his way towards the procession. Deciding it was better to get this over with now, rather than later.

...

"You've got some natural skill, Tyler."

Tyler looked up to the oldest Fowler brother, Tommy with a small smile. The family had gathered around for their lunch by that point. With Tyler sitting as close to Fowler as possible. Though he had gotten along great with the kids and grandparents, time would only tell how things would go with the others. "I'm not that good." Tyler shook his head "I'm just a fast runner. I kinda always have been. Running used to be the way I cleared my head back in..."

He felt Fowler's hand on his, and looked up at the man's soft eyes. "None of that now. We don't have to talk about that." Tyler half-smirked and nodded his head slowly "I was watching though, you _are _good." He gently nudged his foster son carefully "You'll have to go out for the football team in the fall, if you want to anyway." He explained "I bet our high school could use some more decent players."

His youngest brother, Donnie snorted. "I thought you said it needed a miracle." He took a bite out of his sandwich slowly "Kid doesn't live in Cali, so if he has you teaching him he doesn't have a prayer." The family chuckled in response to that "I think we all still remember your try-out for the local team."

Fowler's response was another hearty laugh as he pointed his fork at his "baby" brother. "Maybe not. But I can still take all five of you down single-handedly." He then added "Or are you forgetting the fact that I took the wrestling team to nationals four years in a row?"

"You wrestled?" Both Tyler and Breakdown asked in surprise.

Fowler nodded his head in response, staring at Tyler beside him, and Breakdown in front. He shrugged his shoulders, and took a bite of his food before speaking. "Yeah, I did. Both high school and college, they wanted to recruit me for the big leagues too." Fowler explained "But I decided to follow in dad's footsteps and be a government official." He shook his head "I thank God every day I did."

Fowler's sister leaned forward towards Tyler slowly, smiling a little. "If you ever visit me, remind me about it. I have lots of videos." She chuckled slightly "Of your dad's "crowning achievements." Fowler shot a glare as she whispered in Tyler's ear "In other words every reason that he didn't make it to the big leagues. By the end of senior year you'll have enough embarrassing moments for blackmail for a lifetime."

Tyler snorted quietly, chuckling and looking at Fowler. "Denise, don't go filling my son's head with bad ideas." Fowler chuckled, pulling his arms around Tyler and leaning the boy against Tyler's side "I've only had him for a month and a half, you can corrupt him after a year or so." Tyler laughed, and Fowler chuckled as well, though Breakdown leaned back.

"If it makes you all feel any better, I do enough corrupting for all of you." Breakdown spoke up.

Fowler rolled his eyes at the mech, seeing through the blatant lie. "Oh please." Fowler stated as he took a slow sip of his soda "So says the guy that just last week called me having a panic attack when he was five minutes late getting out of school." Breakdown's eyes narrowed as the family chuckled "If you corrupted him into rebellious behavior, I'd eat my left shoe."

"Don't tempt me." Breakdown snarked "I may just shove that shoe up somewhere else."

From beside him, Fowler's second oldest brother, Barry smacked Breakdown on the back gently. The mech was surprised, and nearly prepared to fight, but the man only smiled. "I like this guy." Barry stated "His dry sense of humor fits in with us better than you do, Bill." He soon found a piece of ham smacking him in the face "Hey!"

"Don't encourage him!" Fowler stated as he finished off his sandwich.

"Alright." Tommy stood up "Are we getting this game going with the kids or what? I haven't gotten enough exercise lately." He turned towards Scott, who was clearly his son "And I have to remind this punk why his old man is still the best there is." He grinned widely "Toss the pig skin, kiddo."

Tyler tossed the football to Tommy as the boys and their kids filed out towards the yard to play again. With Perry and Vera walking over to join them as spectators. He looked up at Fowler, who had stood up, and raised an eyebrow. "Wait, he meant us too?" Tyler asked quietly "I thought-."

"You're my kid aren't you?" Fowler asked "I need a partner if we're playing a father-son game, don't I?"

Tyler chewed his lip, and turned to Breakdown, who nodded and motioned for him to go. It would leave him alone with the Denise, but he also understood this was important quality time for the two of them. "Yeah, okay." Tyler stood up, grinning up at Fowler "Race you to the field?" He asked, playfully, before rushing off.

Fowler chuckled and shook his head. "You can't ask that and run off, kid! No fair!"

As Fowler chased after Tyler, Breakdown sighed and smiled inwardly. It really had been a transformation he had never expected to see. For the first time since Breakdown had met him, Tyler was being his age, a child. He was playing, running around, and laughing. Lowering that guard that he left up so often in order to enjoy it. "First time I've seen the kid so happy." Breakdown mused "You've done a good job making him feel welcome."

Denise turned her head towards Breakdown and shrugged. "Bill loves him, so I think we all figure we should too." She explained "He's a good kid, and he makes my brother happy. Of course I'm going to make him feel welcome." Breakdown smirked "So, how did you meet Tyler anyway? I know you know Bill from work, but you mentioned meeting Tyler first."

Breakdown stared thoughtfully over at Denise. "Saved him from some thugs and his uncle." Breakdown shrugged "It just so happened that he and Fowler had met previously and the whole thing just escalated from there." He looked over at Denise, and took a deep breath "You could say that strange circumstances brought the three of us together. I don't quite understand how it happened myself."

"Yeah well, I'm glad you did." Denise replied "So... You got a girlfriend?"

Breakdown laughed a little, though Denise would never know the real reason. He quickly corrected himself and patted the young woman on the back. "I'm flattered, but I'm afraid I am not the relationship type." Breakdown stood to his feet "Besides, if that weren't true I am f_ar_ too old for you, Denise." He explained.

"How much older?"

"Centuries."

It was Denise's turn to laugh, even though it wasn't a joke. Still, Breakdown was thankful that she didn't loose it or get angry. His holoform's eyes scanned the field, quickly finding Tyler and Fowler near an area. As Tyler caught the football from in the air, Fowler playfully hoisted him under his arm, and carried him down field. The squeal of laughter, and cheering that followed made the smile on Breakdown's face grow. Yes, Tyler had definitely made a good choice of family here. The more he saw of them, the more he knew this was where Tyler _belonged._

"I'm glad we found each other too." Breakdown explained "Because after all he went through, he earned this." He paused a moment "If you don't mind, Denise. I have something to handle at Fowler's car." He lied calmly "If they wonder where I have left, tell them I'll be back."

After he'd made it out of Denise's line of vision, he let his holoform disappear. For a moment, he considered driving off. He knew that they wanted him there, but he felt as though he shouldn't be there. Perhaps because this was a happy time and he was not naturally a "happy" person. He started the engine, yet heard the laughter and cheering again, taking it in. And it finally hit him like a brick to the face. He was running because he was _scared_. He liked this family, he liked Fowler. Even though he'd promised himself to only grow extremely fond of one human: Tyler, he was finding himself attached to the family he had found himself in as well.

Letting the engine die, he sat there for a long moment, before he activated his holoform, and began the walk back up the hill. It had happened, the inevitable, serious truth, had happened. He was becoming an Autobot in spirit, as well as faction. He was growing attached to this family, all of them. Not just Tyler and Fowler, but Fowler's family as well. They were such kind people, with enough love in their heart (or so it seemed) for a million lost souls. And at that moment, Breakdown swore to himself, he'd used his newfound attachment to his advantage. He'd protect this family, he'd embrace the fact that in a strange way, he now felt like it was his.

And with any luck, it would be a family that he and Tyler would call their own for years to come.

...

A/N: Woo, I had trouble getting this chapter to work with me at first. But I hope that the chapter ended up good in the end! :)


	23. Important Decisions

**CHAPTER 23  
Important Decisions**

"I think we tuckered the li'l guy out."

Fowler stared over at Tyler, who had fallen asleep in a nearby chair. It was later in the day, and the family had gathered in the backyard of their home. At the moment, he, Tommy, and Donnie were on the porch while Breakdown talked to the others in the home. "Yeah, I think today settled it for me." Fowler explained "I don't think I could not adopt him anymore. We've just become too close." He explained.

"If you didn't I would." Donnie replied "He seems like such a cool kid. You sure know how to pick them." Fowler smirked in agreement "Fits right in with the rest of the family like he's always been here." He shook his head "It's sad to think that a good kid like that was... Abused you said?" Fowler nodded, confirming it as Donnie growled "Well he has five uncles now who'll show him what a REAL uncle should act like." He added.

Fowler smiled, knowing what Donnie said was true. He had a loving family, one that accepted anyone who was a good person. And that was the type of family Tyler needed, one that would treat him with the love and understanding he needed. "Yeah." Tommy spoke up "I agree with Donnie. The way Scott's parents treated him doesn't even compare to that crap." He shook his head "So, about Brandon... You two close?"

"Not that close. But he cares about Tyler, so he..." He searched his brain for a good way of putting it "Comes around and helps out with him, y'know? I appreciated it so I invited him along." Fowler shrugged, and sighed a bit "He's a little rough around the edges, but trust me, underneath it all he can be a good guy." He explained "Kinda like me sometimes." He admitted.

Tyler stirred in his sleep, leaning back against the chair. Fowler chuckled a bit, and stood to his feet, gently shaking his shoulder. "Ty." Fowler told him calmly, soon finding that the boy refused to rouse from sleep "Tylllllerrrrr." He shook his head as he only turned over in his sleep "Tyler James Beers, you are the heaviest sleeper I know." He muttered under his breath as he carefully shifted Tyler into his arms.

Donnie laughed a little. "Go ahead, Bill. I'm sure the guest room's ready for him." He shook his head "And we aren't going anywhere."

"Yeah." Fowler nodded "Be right back."

Carrying Tyler at his height and strength was easy, he'd done it before. But Fowler still stopped to look down at the sleeping boy in his arms with a smile. Carrying him towards the guest room he would be occupying, he sighed quietly. He was careful to tuck him into the bed, although it ended up not mattering. "They're pretty awesome." Tyler muttered, as Fowler stared down at him "So you decided you're going to adopt me, huh?"

"You were listening?"

"Maybe."

Fowler chuckled a bit, running a hand through his hair gently. He looked thoughtfully off towards a closet. "You really want me to adopt you?" Fowler questioned, Tyler slowly nodded his head "My family made that much of an impression on you?" He asked, Tyler nodded his head a little bit "Look Ty, adoption is _permanent_. If I adopt you, it's not something that's easy to take back." He stated quietly "Are you sure you're ready to commit to something like this only almost two months since we met?"

"Are you ready?" Tyler questioned.

Fowler was silent, even though the answer was "yes". Was he rushing himself? He wasn't sure, but he did know that he felt the overwhelming desire to protect Tyler. He felt something he hadn't felt since he had had his adopted daughter. "If you're ready, I'm ready too." Fowler nodded his head "It's not like I don't have the room. I was just worried you weren't ready..."

Tyler stared down, looking up at Fowler. "Do you think my mom and dad would be sad?" Fowler frowned a little bit "I mean, if you become my dad. That means... That means that they're gone for good, doesn't it?" He questioned.

Fowler shook his head a little bit, taking a deep breath. That was something that he knew would be hard, accepting he had a new father. Accepting that his parents were never coming back. Accepting for the first time since he was three years old that life did go on without them there. "I think they'd want you to have another dad." Fowler encouraged "I know I wouldn't want the alternative if you were my kid anyway." He paused "This is your decision Tyler. Do you want to be in my family, or would you rather see what other options are out there?"

Tyler stared silently at them, and slowly wrapped his arms around Fowler's waist. This time, Fowler wrapped his arms back around the boy, taking it all in. Tyler rested his head against the large, burly man's chest. "I want you to adopt me." Tyler finally managed "If Breakdown can't be my dad, you're the only other person I would want to do." He admitted.

"Alright then." Fowler nodded "We'll see what it takes to make it happen."

Tyler nodded, releasing him and laying slowly down onto the bed. Tyler could only stare up at Fowler, who smiled at him, and pulled the blanket over him. "I don't know if I'm ready to call you that though." Tyler admitted "I mean, my dad... I just... I need time to start doing that." He looked down "That's okay, right. I can still call you Bill?" He asked.

"Call me what you want at your own pace, kid." Fowler nodded his head "Now get some sleep, you've had a long day." He started for the door "Goodnight, kid."

As Fowler left, Tyler turned over onto his other side, and allowed a wide smile to cross over his face. He was going to be a part of a family again, a real one with people who cared about him. And for the first time, he wasn't scared, he was excited. Somehow, the idea of being in this family felt right, no matter how new it might be.

...

Returning home from the weekend was relieving for Breakdown. It had been a fun weekend, yet he could feel exhaustion setting in. Between the barbecues, the dancing, and the games they played, his own real form was feeling it. And most of all, it had been successful in convincing Fowler to adopt Tyler, which was more important to him than anything. Tyler had found a family sooner than he had expected, and even though it was unexpected, he enjoyed the feeling he got seeing the newfound smile on Tyler's face.

Breakdown placed his hands on his hips and stretched outside the Fowler home silently. He could feel his limbs as they extended, and the sores took hold. It wasn't normally to stay in vehicle form for so long, and he was already feeling it. "Fun weekend, huh?" Breakdown turned towards Fowler and nodded "I wanted to talk to you, while we were alone."

"I know, once probation's over you don't want me around." Breakdown replied "I'd hoped I'd have more time to show you-."

"Shut up a minute and listen." Breakdown's optic widened in surprise as Fowler took a deep breath "I want you to stay after your probation is over." At that his optic only widened even more "Don't look so surprised... I know that Tyler wants you around." He paused "And to tell you the truth, you impressed me this weekend. You showed me a side of you I didn't know existed."

Breakdown crossed his arms, and stared down at Fowler. He didn't know for a moment whether the man was serious, or if he was simply doing this to make Tyler happy. Staring off into the night sky, he stood there for a long moment. "You want me as your family guardian?" Breakdown questioned, raising an optic ridge "Explain to me, Agent Fowler... Are you sure about that?" He paused "After all, I am an ex-Decepticon and I know your feelings about them."

Fowler looked straight up into Breakdown's yellow optic quietly. "Look, you're an ex-Decepticon. And over the last two weeks you've proved to me that you really _have _changed." He explained calmly "Tyler's going to be my son if everything goes well. And it wouldn't be fair to separate him from one of the few people, including me he trusts." He explained.

"And you trust me too?" Breakdown asked.

"Shouldn't I?" Fowler asked.

Breakdown smirked, stepping around so that he could face Fowler. For a moment, Fowler looked nervous, yet Breakdown only crouched low enough so that they could see each other face-to-face. "You two can trust me with your lives." Breakdown explained "I know none of us have known each other long. But something about both of you sends my protective side out." He tilted his head "So, you can definitely trust me."

"Good because if you backstab us I'll still blow out your other optic." Fowler stated firmly.

Breakdown only chuckled at that, standing to his feet slowly. Fowler was lucky that he meant what he said, as had it been before he met Tyler, he might have crushed him for the threat alone. "Yeah, well _you _should know. If you do anything to hurt him." Breakdown pointed towards Tyler's bedroom window "Well I'll be on the run again for grinding a government official into the dust."

"Fair enough." Fowler replied "Then I guess neither of us have much to worry about."

Breakdown nodded, though he had definitely meant what he said. The good news in that was that he didn't have much to worry about, as he could tell that Fowler cared about Tyler too much to hurt him. Yet he couldn't help but still feel that protective nature. As his instincts, akin to that of a father, towards Tyler would never go away. "No we don't." Breakdown finally nodded "Can't blame me for warning you though."

"I don't." Fowler replied "Not after last time." He was silent again before staring up "I had something else to ask you about this whole... Adoption thing." Breakdown peered over at him, and nodded "I was wondering what you though of being Tyler's godfather." Breakdown stared at him in stunned silence "I know I have my family I could ask... But I know you care about him too..." He paused "I think you're the right person to ask after everything the two of you have been through."

Breakdown was silent, unsure of how to reply. Him, an actual godfather. It would mean that someday, something may happen to Fowler. And if that day came he might need to take Tyler in. He was silent a moment, he didn't want to say yes, but he didn't want to say no. Finally, he looked down at the man, and nodded. "I'd be honored to be his godfather." He shook his head "Or at least one of them. In case the war ever reaches a breaking point... I'd just rather not raise him in the middle of a war."

"I'll ask one of my brother's too." Fowler patted the side of his leg "If you really just can't... Then they can take him." Breakdown nodded "But if you're ever in a position that you can, then that means you could too." He shook his head "Either way, he'd be in good hands."

"He's in good hands now." Breakdown asserted "And I'll be sure neither of us ever have to really worry about the situation." He then added, with firm certainty "Because I mean it when I say to you, Fowler, that I will protect _both _of you with my life." Fowler slowly nodded his head, allowing a smile to cross his lips "Now if you don't mind, recharge is calling me." He yawned quietly "I will speak to you in the morning."

"Yeah, big guy." Fowler noted, and once Breakdown had transformed down, he stroked the hood of his vehicle mode "You get some good rest, alright? We can talk more about this later." He put his hands in his pocket, and head towards the home.

Breakdown settled himself down, giving a quiet rumble of his engines. A lot had changed over this weekend, and in truth, he was still trying to process it all. It was all good for Tyler, and some of it was good for him. But in the long run, would he be able to keep the promise he had made himself that first day? His promise to Fowler? There was a small amount of uncertainty in himself now that he really had the responsibility resting on his shoulders. _Stop worrying. _Breakdown snapped at himself _You've kept every promise you made up until now. Don't be a fragging coward now that you all have what you wanted._

Chuckling to himself, Breakdown started to shut down his systems and fall into recharge. Inside he knew that the voice in the back of his head was right, everything would end up okay, they'd end up okay. After all, he was the one protecting them, and inside, he still knew that this situation was right. And from now on, he was going to do whatever it took to prove himself worthy of their trust, and ultimately his position as their guardian.


	24. Grab and Go

A/N: Wow almost 200 reviews! Thanks so much for all the awesome and kind feedback guys. :)

...

**CHAPTER 24  
Grab and Go**

"She's the nicest woman, Ty."

"I still don't get why I need to see a psychiatrist."

Fowler carefully placed his hand on his foster sons shoulder, smiling softly. They were seated in the waiting room for the psychiatrist at the moment. It was Fowler's hope that the woman that he had been referenced to could help him through his trauma. But at the same time, he knew it was hard for Tyler to even comprehend opening up to anyone, let alone someone that he didn't know. "Because you're my son, and I don't like seeing you so nervous, or sleepless from the nightmares." He paused a moment "And this woman thinks she can help with that."

"I'm not adopted yet." Tyler reminded him.

"Doesn't matter." Fowler replied "You're going to be my son in a few months anyway, right?" He then added "Besides, I don't need a paper saying you're mine. I just need to know that I care about you just like I would any kid of mine." He then paused "So please, Tyler. Trust me, I'm doing this because it really is what's best for you right now."

Tyler smiled a little at that. Even though he knew Fowler's feelings toward him, it always made his heart skip a beat to hear it. To be reminded that he was this close to having a family that loved him for good. "Alright." Tyler nodded "But Bill?" He paused "I don't have to talk about anything I'm not ready to talk about, right?" He questioned.

"You don't have to tell her anything you haven't told Breakdown, the court, or I if you don't want to." Fowler nodded "But keep in mind, whatever you say to her, and she says to you, is between the two of you." He explained "That's how a psychiatrist works, at least." He explained "You have to give her permission to tell me anything."

That much made Tyler feel better. After all, there were things he had not been asked to say in court, but had happened. There were things that he had not told Breakdown either. Mostly the belt beatings he used to get and he hadn't told anyone about the places other than the closet he'd spent the night in. After all, he'd never forget the few nights he'd spent in their basement. He trembled silently at the memory, he'd much preferred the closet he'd later confined him to than the spider and rat-infested basement. And that was saying something, though he doubted anyone who saw the basement would blame him.

"Hey." Fowler whispered "It's alright, you're okay kid. Move out of that dark place." He attempted "You're safe here with me."

Tyler allowed Fowler to take his hand gently, and felt himself slowly calm down. But he didn't have more than a moment to enjoy the comfort the agent provided when the door nearby opened. "Tyler Beers?" Tyler's head shot up to the older woman who looked down at him through a pair of glasses, she slowly moved in front of him and held out her hand "I'm Doctor Myers, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." As Tyler muttered a quiet "thank you", she turned to Fowler "Bill, always a pleasure."

"Denise." Fowler nodded.

"You know each other?"

"We were friends in college." Fowler nodded slowly "That's why I called her when I decided you needed this." He gently patted Tyler's back "Go on, bud. I'll be out here when you get out. I promise."

Tyler stared up at Denise quietly, then over at the doorway. Could he really do this? Could he really go in and talk to someone, in detail, about what he'd gone through? He didn't want to be the one who whined and complained about everything that happened to him. He'd avoided that for a long time. Yet, he also knew that he had no real option in all of this. He quietly stood to his feet, and followed Denise back into her office. It was large, with degrees hanging on the wall, and knickknacks placed all around.

Tyler took a seat in front of the desk Denise sat behind and leaned back. "I know you're scared. But don't worry, that's normal." Denise shook her head at him as Tyler stared up "Tyler, before we start our session I want you to know that this is a sanctuary. I've dealt with many young children who have come out of abusive or neglectful situations." She added "Physical, sexual, verbal... I've heard it all." She added "There is _nothing_ you tell me that you should feel embarrassed by. Because I'm not here to judge you."

"I haven't even told Bill all about it." Tyler muttered "I'm not ready."

"That's fine." Denise leaned forward "If it makes you feel better all we have to talk about is what you've told Bill. That's how I like to start in fact, with the basics." She paused "No one's ready to open up in the first session." She added "I know I sure wasn't."

Tyler's eyes widened. "But you're a psychiatrist!"

"Why do you think I wanted to be one?" Denise questioned "I can't go into details, but I can tell you that I came to a psychiatrist at your age. I know what being in that chair feels like..." She paused "And I am thankful every day that my parents took me there." She then added "Someday, maybe when you're much older... You're going to thank Bill for taking you to see me."

Tyler stared down at the ground, uncertainty feeling him. Was the doctor right? Would he really thank Fowler years from now for making him go and talk to someone about what he'd been through. "A-Alright... Where do I start?" Tyler asked quietly.

"Let's start with the easiest memory you can talk about."

Tyler was silent for a long moment, thinking back upon the many dark memories that were forever stuck in his mind. As he closed his eyes, he started to speak. "I guess I can start with the first time he hit me..." Tyler muttered "Because I hardly knew what was happening back then."

Denise nodded for him to go on, and after a long moment, Tyler began the story.

...

"So it went okay?"

Tyler nodded as he leaned back against Breakdown's hood silently. They were on the side of the mountain where they used to meet, discussing things as they always did. It was a strange feeling to Tyler, as they hadn't been up there for weeks. But at the same time, it was a good enough feeling that he didn't mind the strangeness. "She was really nice." Tyler nodded "But it felt weird, I haven't gone into that much detail... But she kept asking, and I just kept answering..." He explained.

"That's a good thing. Even though it's hard, she is there to help you out, right?" Tyler nodded, Breakdown revved his engine "How much is there that you haven't told us exactly?" He questioned.

"A lot."

"He didn't ever...?"

"No." Tyler shook his head "I never let him take something like that from me."

Tyler shook his head slowly, hopping off of the hood as Breakdown transformed. The mech stared down at Tyler, and sighed quietly. He didn't enjoy the thought of Tyler suffering more than he knew he had, but a part of him had always know that was the case. "I'm sorry that it was that bad." Breakdown replied "But what matters now is that you're okay."

"The abuse part is not even what's bothering me right now." Tyler replied "It's one of the last things he did. That's what really bothering me."

Breakdown searched his memory banks, and remembered the locket. Tyler had told him that his parents had left it to him, and that made it priceless enough. But there had always seemed to be something far more behind its meaning that he didn't understand. "The locket?" Tyler nodded "You have a picture of your parents though. What does the locket matter?"

Tyler turned towards Breakdown silently, chewing his lip. "My dad gave that locket to my mom the day I was born." He told Breakdown solemnly "It just held a lot of value to me because it's been around as long as I have." He explained "It just felt like whenever I wore it I was just a little closer to them, y'know?" He shook his head "It's bothered me more and more that I lost that since we visited their graves."

Breakdown shook his head, frowning a bit. "I bet Fowler would find it if you asked."

"Nah, it's probably long gone by now." Tyler replied "So, how are things going on-base?" He stated, attempting to change the subject "Have the 'Cons bothered you since Starscream showed up?"

Breakdown shook his head, feeling unnerved by his own answer. He wished that Tyler had changed the subject to anything else. "No." Breakdown replied, he crouched down and seated himself beside Tyler "You haven't seen anything odd by your school, right?" He shook his head in response "Good. That makes me feel better." He paused "But back onto the subject of your locket..."

"Breakdown-."

"Any idea where he might have pawned it off?"

Tyler shook his head a bit, looking away from Breakdown in silence. He didn't like the fact that Breakdown wouldn't let it go. And he didn't like the fact he had even told him about it to begin with even more. "Hey." Tyler stood to his feet "Can we just drop it, please? It just... I don't want to talk about it." He explained "It's just one of the worst parts about what happened." He spoke up "Because seriously, it upsets me enough."

"Right, right." Breakdown replied "Sorry." He paused a minute "Things at the base have been great, actually. Ratchet and Bulkhead are starting to warm up, as weird as it is." He explained "I think we did each other a lot of good when we made that deal way back when." He grinned widely.

Tyler nodded his head in response, opening his mouth to reply when he felt himself flung through the air. He groaned quietly at the beating in his head and the sound of jet engines high above him. "Tyler, RUN!" Tyler lifted his head, hearing ringing in his ears, he focused his eyes towards Breakdown "Get the frag out of here right now!"

Tyler forced himself to his feet and staggered forward. "Not so fast." He soon found a foot in front of him as he staggered back this time, Starscream's optics leered down at him with a certain wickedness "I'm not here to hurt you, boy. I'm here to meet you." He stepped forward slowly "Is this the pet that made you turncoat Breakdown? It looks younger up close."

"Get. AWAY. From. HIM." Breakdown snarled, pulling himself to his feet "You and Megatron can't have him."

Starscream made a "tsk tsk tsk" sound, and within seconds, Tyler felt metal digits around his waist. "Ah, you see you're wrong about that. I'm not with Megatron any longer. We went our separate ways not long after the cave incident that I'm sure you remember." Starscream sneered, keeping his hold on Tyler firm "He was already mad I had failed to bring in a traitor such as yourself. So rather than face his wrath, I defected myself." He sneered "So, he most definitely is not behind this. No, this is for my own _personal _entertainment."

"Get your greasy claws OFF of my partner!"

Tyler squirmed violently, crying out as Starscream clutched him harder. He felt like a doll in the hands of a child, except at least a doll was treated better. "You went back on our deal, Breakdown. And now that I've defected from Megatron, that leaves me _alone_." Starscream stated "And you know betrayal must have consequences." He added.

"B-Breakdown!" Tyler shrieked.

"Shut up!"

Breakdown lunged for Starscream violently, but the seeker simply leaped into the air. Chuckling impishly, Starscream gave Tyler one toss up in the air before carefully catching him between his claws again. "He was such a _good _pet to you." Starscream stared at Tyler with a wicked grin "So I believe he will make a wonderful one for me. And a loyal follower at that."

With a snarl, Breakdown blasted forward, but only found himself crashing to the ground. His optics shot up at the terrified scream that escaped Tyler's lips. He looked up to see that Starscream had transformed, and witnessed as Tyler came crashing into his open cockpit. "TYYYYYYYLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEERRRRR!" Breakdown shrieked.

But within moments, Starscream had taken off in front of his very eyes. Breakdown's optics filled with horror. If Tyler were with Megatron, that would have been one thing, he'd know where to find him. But this was Starscream, and now that he was a free agent, the thought of where he might take Tyler sent a shockwave of fear through his spark and body. "Optimus!" Breakdown quickly turned on his comm "We have a problem, a very, _very_ big problem."

Meanwhile, from Starscream's cockpit, Tyler caught his last glimpse of Breakdown before all that surrounded them were clouds. Tyler felt a chill run up his spine at the dark chuckle that reverberated through the cockpit, leaning back as seat belts strapped him in tightly. "Don't be afraid, Tyler Beers. We're just going to have a little bit of fun." Starscream teased.

Inside, Tyler knew that Starscream's definition of "fun" was bound to be far different from his.

...

A/N: Not quite the Decepticons having Tyler, yet. ;) But I figured free agent Starscream making the grab for Tyler first would be creepier. As I knew at some point his Season 1 defection was going to happen, and this provided the perfect opportunity. (Though bare in mind PARTNERS did NOT happen, he defected for other reasons here) Anyways, reviews make my day as always! :)


	25. Terror

**CHAPTER 25  
****Terror**

Tyler didn't know where they were, but he didn't like it. They'd landed after flying for what must have been three hours, at which time Starscream had carried him into a large cave. Tyler could have made a run for it, after all Starscream hadn't taken his phone. But the mech was smart, and had gotten straight to work chaining his wrists and arms behind his back and to a nearby stone. Tyler yanked at it again, groaning as he found it doing little-to-no good. He stared quietly and intently at his abductor, who was inspecting his weaponry. "W-What are you going to do with me?" He finally managed, as the former-Decepticon eyed him "You can drop the "pet" bullcrap. You don't chain a "pet" up."

"You do give it a leash." Starscream mocked, Tyler merely spat at Starscream's feet in response "Not buying it, are we?" The seeker mocked, moving forward "Very well, you're my hostage if you must know. I figure that if I took one of the Autobots precious pets they would leave me be. They'd do anything for you little animals." He carefully brushed Tyler's face with a claw, to which Tyler pulled away "And being your guardian backstabbed me, guess which lucky human got the honor?" He asked.

"Breakdown is going to find me." Tyler leaned forward with a glare "You're making a **big** mistake."

Starscream gave a deep and dark chuckle, but Tyler didn't let his fear show. He knew that Breakdown was coming for him, he knew that all the Autobots probably were. The last thing they were going to let happen was one of their own being left at the mercy of a psychotic former-Decepticon. "He will try." Starscream noted with a sneer "But don't worry, I'll know. And I'll take you even further away from home than you are now."

"And he'll keep following until you can't run anymore." Tyler asserted "Because he's not going to let a coward like you keep me."

"Watch your tongue!" Starscream snarled "You give me half a mind to-."

"Do your worst." Tyler growled "Nothing you do to me can be worse than what I've already been through."

Starscream frowned, tilting his head a little bit in surprise. He'd never actually found out why Breakdown left that night, nor why the boy was living with Fowler. But he now had a feeling that it was for harsh reasons. "Oh really... Would you still be saying that if I left you here? All alone in a possibly bear infested cave?" Tyler grimaced, but turned away "You're a brave little one, most sparklings would beg me not to."

"What's the point?" Tyler questioned "You're about as bad as my uncle. And you know where he is now? In jail. I'm not afraid of him anymore, so why should I be afraid of just another big bully like you?" He then added with a flash of anger "The good thing is? Bullies like you always get what's coming to you." He shifted onto his side a bit "So if you don't mind, I'm going to sleep my captivity away. I'm really tired of hearing your voice."

At this point, Starscream seemed stunned to silence. "I am far from a bully!"

"That's a laugh." Tyler looked up at him "You aren't a victim as far as I'm concerned either."

"Why do you think I left Megatron!?" Starscream snapped "He's a bully if I've ever seen one, boy. You know what he'd have done to you by now? He'd have dissected you on a table for study." Tyler shifted a bit, uncomfortable "I'm not hurting you. But he would, he would hurt you as he does every prisoner and underling in his ranks." He sneered "You should be thanking me from saving you from a far worse fate."

Tyler shook his head, trying to yank yet again. Starscream chuckled in amusement, seating himself in front of the boy. "No wonder Breakdown said he's like my uncle." Tyler muttered "Those two are two of a kind." He shifted a bit.

Starscream merely pushed aside the realization that the boy was abused. Even though it made the free agent sympathize with him, he was not here to be weakened by the boy like Breakdown had been. For once, he had the power over someone, unconditionally, and he was going to enjoy it. "You're trying to garner my sympathy." Starscream snorted "You think simply because we have both suffered abuse that I'll sympathize with you? Oh child, you really are desperate to be returned to the Autobots."

As if to make a point, Starscream carefully unbound Tyler from the rock. A confused Tyler soon found himself tied in the same manner but rather than to a rock, Starscream looped the chain around a chink in his armor, which carefully clicked together. "If you're too "battered" to hurt me, what are you going to do?" Tyler groaned, stepping to his feet "Gonna just keep me attached to you like this forever? You don't think I'll find a way out."

"Of course you won't. You humans undergo "stockholm syndrome" after the first few months." Starscream flicked Tyler lightly "By the time that time comes, you'll be a perfect little servant. And the perfect little hostage against the Autobots." He sneered "As for this." He pointed the new chain, he shook his head "You won't be finding a way to yank THIS off. You'll find I'm much stronger than a rock."

"I'll find a way." Tyler muttered.

"You don't sound so sure of that." Starscream replied with a chuckle "Now get on your feet, human. We still have a ways to go before we reach our destination." He growled "And since you have such a love for talking back to me. We'll be walking the whole four miles." He stated coldly, clutching the chain and forcing Tyler to his feet "I'm sure that will teach you how little I care for your well being."

"Go screw yourself."

As the chain flung forward Tyler heard as his head collided with the wall. He landed with a thud and groaned quietly, catching sight of Starscream through his blurred vision. "I dare you to continue back-talking me." Starscream mocked, but his expression soon changed "Now see what you made me do! I'll need to fix your leaking head too." He snarled "Now get on your feet!"

Tyler staggered to his feet, feeling as Starscream yanked on the chains. This time, any bit of courage he had had faltered. Starscream had _hurt him_, he'd thought the crazed seeker would be too weary to do so, but he had proved him wrong. He was this mech's prisoner, not a prize, not even a slave. A _prisoner _that he would treat as little more than a trophy and an outlet for his abuse. "When the Autobots find me." Tyler muttered "You're dead."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Starscream merely chuckled and yanked his prisoner forward, beginning the walk towards the makeshift base he had created. Knowing he had the boy completely and utterly under his control.

...

"What the pit were you thinking going back up there!?" Bulkhead snapped "You know that's where Starscream saw you the first time!"

Breakdown was silent, having felt enough guilt before Bulkhead had thrown that lovely statement in. He looked sullen, worn out, and worried. It had been a good twelve hours since Starscream had flown off with Tyler, and so far a search had yielded nothing. "Don't you think I KNOW that!?" Breakdown questioned angrily "I wasn't thinking, and the attack came so fast... He had him before i'd even known what happened."

Optimus stepped forward before Bulkhead could speak again. "We should not be pointing fingers at this point. It does not matter who is at fault here." He spoke softly "What matters is that Starscream now has one of our own as his prisoner. And moreover, what matters is finding, and bringing Tyler home safely." He paused a moment "Breakdown, do you know any places that Starscream would take him."

Breakdown shook his head. "Somewhere as far away as possible. Enough so that he'd feel comfortable knowing he was hauling around a child without getting caught." He paused a moment "Somewhere without human life for miles, definitely. But close enough to civilization, or at least food and water, to keep him alive. Because Starscream will definitely want him alive. If he wanted him dead, he would have done it right there and then."

Ratchet turned from manning the computers to stare at them. "The last time that Tyler's cell phone had a signal was somewhere over the country known as "Canada"." He stated calmly "But with so much time having passed, and the rate of speed that Starscream has. I believe that they could be as far away as Russia by now." He then added "It makes sense to take him to a foreign land. Without knowledge of the country's tongue, Tyler wouldn't be able to communicate that he has been abducted."

"Any good news Dr. Sunshine?" Breakdown snarked.

Ratchet resisted temptation to bash the mech over the head. Knowing that Breakdown was merely speaking out of fear for his partner. And without a doubt, that fear was more than warranted. "Look, Breakdown. We all get that you're worried. But don't forget you're still on probation here." Arcee told him flatly "You can't just talk to any of us like that."

"You'd be saying worse if he had Jack." Breakdown barked.

Arcee looked ready to bark back, but caught the look in Optimus's optic. "Look arguing is going to get us nowhere. What we should be doing is looking at uninhabited parts of Europe." She then added "Especially in Greece. The 'Cons have been there before, so maybe Starscream would go somewhere they know?" He questioned.

Breakdown eyed Bulkhead, who, as though reading his mind, nodded. "That's a good thought. Bulkhead and I will go for Greece, because Arcee's right. That's the most likely place he'd go." Breakdown explained "With all the ruins to hide in, he could lay low there easily." He explained, he turned to Ratchet "Bridge us out first. I want to get there as quickly as possible."

"Are you sure about this?" Ratchet questioned.

"Positive." Breakdown replied "Send the others wherever else is possible. But I'm going to the most likely place." He turned to Ratchet "I'm the reason he got into this mess in the first place. And that means I'm the one who's going to get him out of it." He ref firmed "You sure you want to pair up with me, Bulkhead? I thought you didn't like us pairing up."

"You need back-up." Bulkhead asserted "And I've gotten used to it."

Breakdown smirked, though he knew it was far from a "let's be friends again" statement, it was a start. Ratchet carefully typed in the co-ordinates, and let the ground bridge open. "I'm typing in the same co-ordinates I sent Bulkhead through the last time he arrived in Greece." Ratchet turned to them "Good luck."

"Breakdown."

As Breakdown turned his head to Fowler, he frowned. The man had hardly spoken a word since Tyler had been taken. He could see worry and shock in the man's features, and had been able to see it even when he had been in a corner of the room. "Wherever Tyler is... Wherever that freak took him..." Fowler was silent a moment "You promise me you'll bring my son home safe."

It felt odd, being the first time he had ever referred to Tyler as such outside of between the two of them. But it was enough to let Breakdown know how serious a thing that was to Fowler. "You have my word, Fowler. I'll bring him home." He nodded firmly "He'll be back home before you know it." He reassured.

Without another moments hesitation, Breakdown made his way quickly through the ground bridge. He was determined, moreso than he'd ever been in his life. And with that determination came rage. Rage which he could not help but feel. If Tyler was hurt, he swore to himself Starscream would pay. He had once warned him of this, the first time that he had threatened Tyler, that he would pay for an action like this dearly. And it was a warning he whole-heartedly planned to act upon when he made Starscream pay.

...

Tyler dropped to his knees, groaning out in pain. His legs stung him, and his body was worn out. But most of all, his head hurt. It throbbed in searing pain, but Tyler refused to whine and give Starscream the pleasure of knowing he was pained and scared. "You're pathetic." Starscream groaned "Do you not realize how much you have slowed me down already?"

"Then let me go if I'm dead weight." Tyler huffed "Maybe I'm not worth the trouble."

Starscream remained unamused, and carefully grabbed onto the chains. Dragging him up towards his open palm and setting him there. "We're nearly home free, ditching you now would make my whole trip pointless." He then added "Be glad I'm merciful enough to carry you the rest of the way." He stated "Now shut up, I need to think."

They walked in silence another fifteen minutes before Starscream found where he was looking for. An old building, probably left over from Ancient Greece. It lied in ruin, but made a wonderful base given it was underground and not open to the public. "Home sweet home." Starscream stated as he made his way beneath ground into a dimly lit area, mostly lit by torches, the only modern electricity coming from panels he had installed "Can I trust you off the chain."

"Where am I going to go?"

Starscream smirked, releasing the chains from the nook in his armor. Tyler felt them released off his wrists too and sighed in relief. As Starscream turned away, he carefully checked his phone, noticing quickly there was no signal. No way to call for help even if Starscream wouldn't have noticed. "Nowhere, given here you have a nice little cell prepared just for you." Starscream motioned towards a large steel barred cage in the corner "Give me any lip and it'll be going into the darkest area of the building. Where you will be alone unless I require your presence."

"You're sick."

"You say that as if you expected anything less." Starscream chuckled "Now get inside, I have things to do and places to be. And I do not want to have to worry about you getting a signal on that worthless device of yours." He carefully opened the cage.

As Tyler wearily climbed in, Starscream locked it. "So you do listen to orders well, good. Maybe you'll live longer than other prisoners of mine after all." Starscream started for the entrance "If you make so much as a sound, I will know. I have this base tapped. Do not test my patience more than you already have." He stared back "I'll be back with medical supplies, and food. Try not to die on me while I'm gone."

And then he was gone, leaving Tyler all alone in his underground "cell". At this point, Tyler lost his composure, eyes welling up with tears as he pulled himself to a corner of the cage. Where was Breakdown? Surely, he hadn't decided to simply leave him in the clutches of Starscream. Of course he'd be out looking for him. But would he actually find him? He buried his face into his knees. He wanted to go home, he wanted to go home, he wanted to go home and be with Fowler and Breakdown, to just take back ever going back to that place.

But the truth was, he was a long way from home, and he knew it. And he couldn't help but worry that no one was coming, that he was alone... And worst of all, he'd never see "home" again.

...

A/N: I know, not much of Breakdown and the 'Bots this chapter. But I really wanted to focus most on Tyler and Starscream. Hope it came out well anyway. :)


	26. Rage

**CHAPTER 26  
Rage**

Tyler woke up to a bandaged up head and a groan. He could see Starscream in the corner, grunting and looking over some computer screens. It was clear to him that Starscream was monitoring things outside, and quite frankly he didn't like that. "You actually gave me first aid?" Tyler blinked "Why?"

"Don't think too hard on it." Starscream sneered "I still need you alive."

Tyler groaned, and sat up, his eyes focusing in the dark. He was still sore after the nap he had taken once Starscream left, but felt some of the tension had left his body. As Starscream moved his attention to him, Tyler moved back quietly, clenching his fists. Starscream chuckled lightly, leaning against the wall of the building quietly. "Now that's what I was expecting: fear." He then mocked "Has realization hit you yet, boy? No one's coming for you. You were nothing more than a pet to him and to them." He then added coldly "After all, who would want someone as weak as you?"

Tyler's eyes lowered to the ground, trembling quietly. Was it true? Was he that weak? He knew Fowler had wanted him, he wanted to adopt him, he was planning on it. But had he really been just nothing more than an excuse Breakdown had used to turncoat in this case? "Breakdown cares. He just... He hasn't found you yet." Tyler replied with as much firmness as he could muster "Breakdown's like my big brother. He was the first person to care about me in a long time, and he wouldn't stop caring about me."

"Then where has he been the last fourteen hours?" Starscream asked.

"Hunting you down." Tyler insisted.

"You _almost _sounded serious." Starscream snorted "Hold onto your blind faith. You'll need it while you spend the rest of your pathetically short life in captivity." Starscream flicked the cage slightly "Do I need to escort you out for a leak?" Tyler turned his head, ignoring Starscream "You'll have to come out sometime. And then I'll have _more_ fun with you."

Tyler spat out at Starscream, this time, hitting his armor. Starscream only growled quietly, growing annoyed. The cage ripped open, and Tyler found himself yanked out. "Then again, why wait when we can have our fun now?" Starscream questioned, squeezing a little on him "I've had just about up to HERE with your attitude, human. Allow me to explain to you the gravity of the situation." He then brought him to his optics "You will not spit on me, you will not smart mouth me, and you will submit yourself to my will..." He then added "Or the only thing the Autobots will find of you is a million little pieces left on their doorstep."

"You said you needed me alive."

"I only need one of you, last I counted there are FIVE." Starscream snarled "If you prove to be too much, I'll simply snatch another one." He threw the boy down, but not enough that it would do much damage "Do you understand that you VERMIN?"

"Yeah, I hear you loud and clear." Tyler groaned.

Starscream grinned wickedly, his optics flashing with delight, only to fade a moment later. "You think they'd be in here? It seems like the only building we've seen." Bulkhead's voice spoke out "It seems like the perfect place to hide Tyler if he wanted to make sure it was somewhere out of the way." He shook his head "We should go in."

"I don't know... It seems too obvious." Breakdown's voice came next.

"Break-"

Tyler had not even spoken the full name before he was eating the dirt on the floor. Starscream held him down and placed a finger over his mouth carefully. Tyler squirmed as he was carefully lifted and held against Starscream's chest. "If you say a word." Starscream whispered into his ear "I'll murder them both here and now." Tyler trembled quietly.

His mind however, came up with the best idea he could think of. He carefully reached into his phone, he felt around, blindly attempting what he had to do. He only hoped that he could find and turn on the power button. It was a stretch, but from this distance, he could only hope their scanners would pick it up. "Wait a minute... I'm getting a signal." Tyler's eyes widened, relief hitting him as Breakdown spoke up "His phone's down there, if nothing else." He could hear as Breakdown made his way through the entrance "Cover me."

"You little brat!" Starscream growled, shoving him back into the cage "Don't get comfortable. Once I've finished them, you're going to feel pain like you've never felt before." He snarled quietly.

Tyler waited quietly as Starscream left the room, crawling towards the door to his cage. He reached his hand through the bars, carefully reaching for the key that was still stuck in it. The weight, however, proved to be too much given it was big enough for a Transformer to use. "BULKHEAD!" Tyler screamed, using his last "BREAKDOWN! I'm DOWN HERE!"

He hadn't gotten an answer by the time the blasting began. Tyler sighed quietly, relief filling him. They _had_ come, they'd tracked him down, and come to rescue him. He quietly berated himself for nearly believing Starscream's lies about them not caring, but let relief overcome him. Yet Tyler also knew that the fight wasn't over. What if Starscream managed to flee again? What if they had to hunt him down further? He relaxed however, knowing full well that they were here for them, there was no reason to worry or be upset.

The sound of metal footsteps coming in made him tense, but he quickly relaxed at the sight of Breakdown. To tell the truth, Breakdown looked just as relieved to see him as well. "Tyler." Breakdown breathed in relief "Thank Primus." He quickly rushed forward, and examined the lock on the cage "We don't have much time, Bulkhead's keeping Starscream busy as long as he can."

"You came for me."

Breakdown stared at Tyler, surprised by the boy's own surprise as he quickly unlocked the cage. Tyler rushed forward towards his guardian, nearly breaking down into sobs as he made his way to Breakdown's body. "Of course I did, kiddo." Breakdown replied "You're my partner, I'll come for you no matter what the situation." He then added calmly "Don't worry, it's okay..." Breakdown replied "You're alright."

"I thought he was going to kill me."

"Well, the day is still young."

Breakdown carefully nudged Tyler behind him as Starscream approached. Kicking Bulkhead roughly into the building and sneering. Breakdown let his lips curl up into a scowl, acting like an animal in much the same way that he had towards Brody. Except this time, it was much more imposing, especially given it was coming from a giant metal being. "You're not taking another step closer, Starscream." He snapped "We're taking him out of here, and if you so much as try to stop me I'll rip that smug little face of yours right off your helm." He then looked at a dazed Bulkhead, who seemed to pull himself from the ground "You okay, Bulk?"

"Fragger hit me from behind." Bulkhead stated as he stood to his feet "But I'm fine."

Before Tyler knew it, Bulkhead too had taken a stance in front of him. It was quite the sight, Breakdown and Bulkhead, standing together in such a manner. Starscream only chuckled lightly staring between the two of them. "So much fuss over one pathetic human pet." Starscream teased, he approached slowly "I spent nearly twenty-four hours with it and never saw what made this one so special."

"You wouldn't." Breakdown replied "But even if he wasn't "special" I'd protect him. Something you'd never understand either." Starscream's optics narrowed in response "Not that it matters since by the time I'm done with you, you'll have a lot more problems than not understanding our friendship." He added with another cold snarl.

Tyler watched as Breakdown throttled forward and slammed the seeker to the ground. Tyler's eyes widened as the two quickly became intertwined and slammed through the side of the building. He staggered backwards, watching as some of the wall crumbled down. "Tyler?" Bulkhead turned to the boy calmly "Are you okay?" He questioned.

"Pain... Lots of pain." Tyler groaned "He hit me against a rock."

Bulkhead carefully crouched down, pulling Tyler up to his chest. He nodded his head a bit, allowing the soft side that often came out around the human kids show. "Don't worry, kiddo. We'll be back with Ratchet soon." Tyler nodded his head a bit "Right now, let's start by getting you out of here." He carefully opened his comm link as he rushes towards the exit "Ratchet, we have Tyler. He's safe, but hurt. Breakdown's handling Starscream, but we're gonna need a bridge."

_"Roger that. Fowler is asking how bad the damage is. Wants to know if he'll need to bash any robotic skulls in."_

"Tell him the kid's just a little bruised and battered. Nothing serious." Bulkhead chuckled "And I think Breakdown's already way ahead of him on the bashing in someone's robotic skull part." He then added "Now get me that bridge."

Meanwhile, Breakdown felt his head hit the ground hard. The mech groaned, pulling himself to his feet, and turning with a low growl towards Starscream. Starscream chuckled a bit, tilting his head with the same wicked grin spreading on his lip. "You really are pathetic, Breakdown." Starscream chuckled "All I did was have a little fun with him, give him some exercise."

"I saw what he looked like." Breakdown snarled "You took your anger out on him. You wanted to use him against _me_." His voice was growing more and more angry "I know how you work Starscream, you strike at people that your enemies care about most. If you go after them at all." He added in a near-shout "The problem here is you messed with the WRONG kid."

"Awwww is Breakdown a sad little mech?"

Breakdown charged forward, slamming his fist against Starscream's face. Starscream groaned, allowing Breakdown to pin him down. As his optics narrowed, Breakdown carefully pulled Starscream up towards his face. "If you don't shut up, Breakdown's going to be a psychotic killer." Breakdown told him with such rage that Starscream looked ready to rust himself "If you wanted revenge on me. All you had to do was attack ME, not hid behind my partner." He then questioned "But you don't have the guts to do that, do you, you cretan?" He questioned.

"I just enjoy making you both squirm." Starscream told him coldly "It's just so fun, especially with the sparklings. Especially a sparkling as messed up as him." He then added "He was pathetic enough to try to garner my sympathy."

Breakdown slammed his fist hard into Starscream's face. Starscream's optics widened, feeling as the dent formed. "SHUT UP." Breakdown growled "I could care less what thrill you got out of this! He is a CHILD! And what's more is he is my charge." He explained as coldly and angrily as he could "I already let one fragged up lunatic like you live through hurting him. And I'm not adding another to my list." He shouted loudly.

Breakdown opened his mouth to speak again as a blast hit his shoulder, knocking him to the ground. Starscream carefully placed a foot onto Breakdown's throat, the mech groaned, and Starscream only laughed. "You sound like a father. Is that what this is about? You care about him like a sparkling?" Breakdown grimaced "So that is what it is, isn't it? He's like the child you never had the chance to have." Breakdown could only growl, anger overtaking him "It would be a shame for such a bond to be severed, now wouldn't it?" He then added "I would love to see how someone like you would react to the death of someone they held so highly."

At that point, Breakdown lost all control of himself. Quickly gripping Starscream's leg, he slammed him hard against the ground. Grappling onto his back, he slammed his fist hard into Starscream's head. And harder. And harder. Energon seeped through his metal thumbs as he trembled slightly. "You should know something about me... Especially when someone's THAT close." Breakdown carefully pulled at the wires in his neck "If you touch him again. If you so much as look at him." He pulled harder "I will rip you apart, piece-by-piece. Wire-by-wire. I will make you suffer so much pain that I'll probably have to go back to the Decepticons just because any Autobot would see it as barbaric."

"B-Breakdown..."

"What? You think just because I'm one of the good guys now ANYTHING changed?" Starscream struggled, as Breakdown pushed his head further into the soil "I'm still me, Starscream. And I'm still the vicious fragger that I used to be." He then added "So you have five seconds to forget Tyler ever existed. Or so Primus help me, you'll be in for the slowest death possible."

Starscream screeched as Breakdown tugged harder, and harder. "F-Fine! I'll leave him alone! You win!" Starscream screamed, whining quietly "Please, just spare me the pain! I've taken enough of it from Megatron! I'll do whatever you want." Breakdown quickly picked him up by the wires, and dragged him along "What are you doing?"

"Making sure you know to _keep_ that promise."

Breakdown ripped the wires out violently, allowing energon to seep out. And with one violent kick, dented Starscream's wing. Starscream hollered violently, falling to the ground and writing with pain. "Do we understand each other, Starscream?" Breakdown questioned "Or do I need to fracture and rip it off its hinge?" He questioned "I'd be happy to do so."

"C-Crystal."

With one swift kick to the head, Breakdown watched Starscream be forced into stasis lock. Taking in a deep breath, he crouched slightly, placing his hands on his knees. I thad been the first time in months that he had gotten that violent, and yet, he didn't regret it. The way that he had threatened Tyler had been unacceptable. The way he had taunted how much he cared about the boy had been too. "Well..." Breakdown turned as Bulkhead approached "I thought you might have needed help."

"Dented the fraggers wing." Breakdown noted "Even if he goes back on leaving him alone, he won't be going ANYWHERE."

Bulkhead nodded his head, and slowly passed Tyler onto him. Tyler groaned quietly, resting his head against Breakdown's chestplate. The mech smiled, rubbing his back, and letting out a sigh of relief. If nothing else, he felt utter relief at the knowledge that he had just shared with Bulkhead. "You did good." Bulkhead admitted "Maybe you are changing after all."

"Told you." Breakdown smirked.

"Come on, let's get Tyler back and healed up." Bulkhead replied "Think we should bring him back and lock him up?" He nodded to Starscream.

'I say strand him here." Breakdown snorted "C'mon."

In his hand, Tyler simply closed his eyes and relaxed. Knowing well enough that everything was going to be okay. And most of all that Starscream would not be hurting him any time soon.

...

A/N: Blergh, took me a while to figure out how this chapter was going to go. I hope it came out as well on paper as it did in my head.


	27. Love and Opening Up

A/N: Woo! My first fully Tyler-centric chapter. :) I know I've had a few Breakdown-centric chapters, but I figured Tyler was liked enough that he could have his own chapter fully on his side of things. Hopefully it ends up good.

A/N: Reposting due to some serious mistakes that were made in the first upload. Also couldn't get FF to work to do it last night.

...

**CHAPTER 27  
Love and Opening Up**

"Hey, bud, how are you feeling?"

Tyler slowly moved into a seated position in his bed, wincing quietly. After the events with Starscream, he'd been immediately confined to resting in bed for the next three days by Ratchet and any chance to see someone was welcomed as a result. Though Fowler normally came home at lunch to make sure he ate, and then at night, it was something Tyler looked forward. After all, the day that he had been confined, released, and come home from the medbay Fowler had hardly left his side. It was doting that Tyler had never experienced since he was young and if he were to be honest, he relished in it. And given he'd acted the same way that day, it only continued to be a welcome feeling. "I'm okay." Tyler groaned "Just a little hurt." He shook his head "Breakdown being outside has been nice, though."

"He keep you company?" Fowler asked.

"Of course." Tyler grinned "I don't think he's gotten a wink of recharge since I got home."

Fowler chuckled, nodding his head and seating himself on the bed. He gently ran a hand along his cheek, smiling a little. "I think we were both just scared out of our mind." Fowler explained, shaking his head a bit "I thought my heart had stopped when Breakdown told me he took you. I've been in that place, and the thought of you at his mercy..." He paused "Scariest moment of my entire life."

"You were scared?" Tyler questioned "Why?"

Fowler rubbed the back of his mind, reminding himself that Tyler had not had a real "family" for some time. Fowler sighed quietly, smiling. "Because I love you, kiddo." Tyler's eyes widened "And the last thing I want is to see someone I love get hurt." He explained, though Tyler still seemed to be grasping the "L" word "What?"

"I... You love me?" Tyler asked "But we're not related... Not by blood anyway."

Fowler frowned, taking it as more ideas that were drilled into Tyler's head by his uncle. Fowler shook his head a bit, patting the boy on the top of the head. "Love runs a lot deeper than blood, kiddo." He explained "If I didn't love you, do you really think I would have agreed to adopt you almost two months into this?" He asked, Tyler thought about it, and shook his head "Exactly. I love you, you're my son as far as I'm concerned. Even if you need time to decide your feelings, I know mine."

"I'm just sorry it caused you to get scared."

"Why, did you ask Starscream to kidnap you?" Tyler shook his head "Then you have nothing to apologize for."

"But uncle Brody used to say..."

"Forget what he had to say." Fowler shook his head "That man wouldn't know what it means to be a "family" if the answer hit him over the head." He leaned back a bit, and stared over at Tyler "It doesn't make you feel weird does it?"

Tyler shook his head slowly, taking a deep breath. "No." Tyler replied quietly "It makes me feel happy."

Fowler's smile only widened as he gently kissed the top of Tyler's head. Tyler felt a smile tug on his lips, leaning against Fowler's chest slightly. Fowler let his smile curve up, and allowed Tyler to move away for a moment. Tyler hadn't felt a touch like that in way too long and it felt good, it all felt good. "You know..." Fowler began "I'm sorry that I talked badly about your family. Even if... He isn't your family anymore, that really isn't right."

Tyler shook his head, looking up at Fowler a bit. "Don't be. Uncle Brody isn't... He isn't my uncle anymore. I got new uncles now, right?" Fowler smiled at that "And you're right, he probably wouldn't even know what "family" means." He explained bluntly "I know I still have a lot to learn about it. But... I have a great teacher." He added.

Fowler nodded his head a bit, standing to his feet and stretching. Tyler felt bad that he couldn't add "my dad" to the statement. But as hard as he tried, the young boy could tell he still wasn't ready to call Fowler that. In a way, he still just wasn't ready to leave his old life behind, to leave his parents behind for that matter. "Well, I should let you rest a little more." Fowler told him, carefully moving the blankets up to Tyler's chin "I'll call you down for dinner, okay bud?"

"Yeah." Tyler stared at Fowler "Bill?"

"Mmmmm?"

"I love you too."

Fowler smiled a little, letting those words sink in. He simply nodded his head and headed out the door. It had taken Tyler all of his courage to reply with that. To admit that despite his own uncertainties he did love Fowler like a father. But then again, he knew it had taken Fowler a lot of courage to tell him that he loved him like a son at the same time. Laying back against the bed, he could not wipe the smile off of his face. He was loved, someone had admitted to his face that they really, genuinely loved him. He had told someone that he loved them and they had reciprocated.

It was the first time in a long while that Tyler could say he felt elated.

...

"You're getting better."

"You really think so?"

Tyler sighed, it was only a few weeks after, but he had quickly gone back to sessions with his psychiatrist. Denise smiled at the questioning look on Tyler's face, and just shook her head. "You're opening up more already, and that's a good start. Most kids can take anywhere up to five months before they're ready to open up to me." She told him politely "Especially someone that's been through as much as you have in the last ten years..." She shook her head "To tell you the truth, I'm astounded you're as well-adjusted as you are. Given some of the things your uncle..."

"He's not my uncle anymore."

"Very well. Given some of the things Brody did to you."

Tyler nodded his head, knowing that she was probably right. There were only a few people he'd ever heard of that had gone through these things and ended up okay. In a way, even he had issues. Mostly in the trust department, but none the less, they were there. "And you haven't told anyone else that Brody..." Tyler shook his head, knowing what she was going to ask "Not even the police?"

"I told them." Tyler replied "But there wasn't much they could do. Since he was only ever around, and Roger never actually touched me or anything."

"Right." Denise replied "Now Tyler... Given you've been so open, and how often you bring this up... I'd like to take the last bit of our session and ask you about." She paused "The _basement_."

Tyler was silent, absently playing with his fingers in his lap. He hated to think about the basement, let alone talk about it. And he hated himself for ever bringing it up even if it was only in passing. "It was hard enough to tell the police about it. There's a reason why I didn't have to talk about it in court." Tyler trembled a bit, clasping his hands together "If I tell you, if I... If I talk about it, you really won't go and tell Bill, right?" He questioned, she shook her head in response "Dr. Myers. I was only six, you gotta realize I barely remember what happened down there."

"Can you tell me about what you do remember?" Tyler was silent "Tyler..."

Tyler stood to his feet, and appeared ready to walk out of the room right there and then. "Tyler..."

"He tried to _kill _me, OKAY?"

The response was so soft, yet full of anger that Denise needed a few moments to comprehend it. Tyler shook his head, leaning against the wall, he bit his lip quietly. "I was getting older... And he was getting tired of me." Tyler paused a moment "So he took me down to the basement where we used to live, and he... He started to strangle me." Tyler explained "When I fought him, he burned my arm." He carefully moved his hand toward a large mark, the only remnant of what had happened "I always say it's just a birth mark... But if I were going to be honest. I'm pretty sure he tried to set me on fire." He paused "If I hadn't fought back, he probably would have."

"And no one noticed?" Denise looked like she was going to be sick.

"He locked me down there... Kept me in there until I'd healed." Tyler shook his head "I don't know why he didn't just kill me. Because I remember at that point I really, really wanted to die." He paused a moment "I'll never forget the pain, Dr. Myers. And that's why I hate talking about it. That and the night I was saved were the most pain I've ever felt."

"Did he burn you anywhere else?"

"My back." Tyler replied "I say that was an accident." His hands tightened into fists "Please, stop making me talk about this." He whispered "I know you probably went through horrible stuff. So you understand what talking about that first year is like for me." He paused "I spent most of my time when I was home in there, even after he decided to keep me alive."

Denise was silent for a long moment before nodding her head slowly. "So that was the reason he's in jail for so long." Tyler nodded his head solemnly "Tyler..." Denise was silent "I never... Had a family member who tried to give me a painful death like that. My abuse was less physical." Tyler crossed his arms a little and leaned back "But what he did was unacceptable."

"I know that." Tyler replied "And that was just because... Just because I was sad, because I was too annoying. Too much like myself." He paused a moment "At least the first time he punched me, it was because he thought I screwed up." He paused "But that's not even what made me afraid of him. It wasn't the punches, it wasn't the insults..." He paused "It was that I knew if he wanted too, he could kill me whenever he wanted to."

"I don't blame you." Denise replied quietly "It's normal to be afraid after something like that." She paused "Do you know why he kept you alive?"

Tyler shook his head, it was a question that alluded him even all these years later. Brody had just left, as if he'd just given up, like he'd seen it as a waste of time. Or perhaps, a waste of the money that he was getting from the state every month. "He never said." Tyler shook his head "Look, I'm done talking about this... I need to..."

"It's alright." Denise nodded "We can end the session now."

Tyler could not have gotten out of the office fast enough. The memories returning to his head as he tried his best to push them far, far away to the back of his head where they had once been. Quietly, he could only remind himself that this was all to help him, and in a way, he felt better after talking it out. But at the same time, it only served to remind him how badly things had been. How horribly things could have ended. And the fact that no matter how hard he tried, the lasting effects would always be there.

But worst of all, as he stared down at the remains of the burn on his arm, it reminded him that not all scars _would _go away.

...

"Hey, Tyler." Fowler spoke as he entered the kitchen that night "I have something for you."

Tyler looked up a moment from his food, seeing what Fowler had in his hands. Though for a moment, the boy didn't believe his eyes, as he never thought that he would see it again. "My locket?" Tyler asked quietly, approaching Fowler and the golden chain dangling from his hand "But I... I don't understand." Fowler gave it to him slowly "Brody sold it..."

"Yeah, Breakdown told me." Fowler explained "He told me what it meant to you too." He added "I went to at least three pawn shops today, asking around about it. Finally tracked it down to the one downtown." He carefully loosened his tie a bit and sat down "I figured after you were so upset leaving your session today that... Maybe if I found it, you might smile again."

Tyler stared it over a bit. The picture was still there, it was in great condition, and yes, he did smile at the sight of it. "But... This had to cost you a lot of money." Tyler muttered "Solid gold isn't cheap." He paused a moment "You should have just let it go. It wasn't your job to go and buy my locket back for me. I'll pay you back, I swear."

"Tyler." Fowler leaned over "That's the last thing you have left of your parents." Tyler stared at him silently "You deserve to have that with you until the day you die. Sure, I'll probably have things to give you as you get older too. And sure... It might not be your only heirloom." He shook his head "But it wasn't fair that you had to loose the one thing that should mean the world to you." He then added "You're not paying me a cent."

Tyler slowly set the locket around his neck, smiling at its presence yet again. It was the greatest relief in the world to have his mother's locket with him again, the one link he did have to them restored. "Thank you, Bill." Tyler finally managed to say "You seriously have no idea what this means to me..." He paused "I can't... I can't thank you the way I want to in a million years." He looked over at Fowler "I just..."

"You're welcome." Fowler chuckled, then grew serious "You're okay though, right?" Tyler turned to Fowler a bit "Did you share something with Denise that you wished you hadn't or something?" He added "We can slow down the sessions if that's what's got you ansy. Maybe three sessions a week is a little extreme?" Tyler was silent "Ty?"

Tyler was silent, sitting back down at the table. Even with his eyes avoiding him, he could feel that Fowler was staring intently at him. "I just... No one has to know what I say in there... So I feel more okay with talking about." He paused "You know, the harder stuff."

"That's good. It's supposed to." Fowler nodded.

"Today I opened up about the worst of it." Tyler explained "Stuff that I don't know if you're ready to hear." Fowler frowned a little "I got a little more upset talking about it than I thought I was going to get." He shook his head "I guess I wasn't ready to talk about it, at least not with someone I don't know. Unless you count the cops." He stared down.

"Then you don't have to." Fowler placed a hand on Tyler's shoulder "But if you do need to talk about it again..."

"I know." Tyler carefully clutched his locket, then looked up at Fowler "Maybe talking to someone I know better will help... If I really do need to talk about it." He stated quietly "If I did, would you promise not to... Freak out or anything?" He paused "I just want to know that no matter what I tell you about my life with him... Or the scars I have."

"I would never look at you any differently than I do now."

As the man wrapped his arm around his shoulders again, Tyler inhaled deeply. And for the first time ever, between Fowler and Breakdown, he began to tell Fowler about the things he once had been too scared to even think about.

...

A/N: Woo, kinda a heavy chapter, I know. But I figured the "basement" had to be addressed at some point. And I knew it was going to be soon. Hope my explanation came out okay. :)


	28. Assurances and Rekindling Friendship

**CHAPTER 28  
Assurances and Rekindling Friendship**

Tyler grunted as he turned over in bed at the knock on his door. He didn't like getting up earlier than twelve on the weekends after he'd come to live with Fowler, but that was exactly what the man was trying to get him to do. But he also knew that Fowler had another reason, which Tyler was avoiding as much as he could. He didn't know what a "home visit" was, but he quietly wished that it wasn't required by his social worker. And if it absolutely had to be, he could have at least scheduled it after ten o'clock that morning. "Ty, we can't avoid this today." Fowler told him as he gently opened the door "I know you're not going to go teenage rebel on me now."

"You're not the one who has to get up early during the week." Tyler grunted.

"I get up earlier." Fowler smirked, pulling the blankets off Tyler, who turned to him "Look, I know you're nervous. But we've gotta do this at least four times before we're in for your adoption. So you might as well get used to it now." Tyler slowly sat up, and stared at the man "Trust me, I don't like getting up early on Saturday either." He patted his leg slightly "But we have to."

"I get it." Tyler groaned "I just wish it was as easy as signing a paper or something." He shook his head "This stuff is ridiculous."

"This "stuff" is what keeps kids out of the hands of people like Brody."

Tyler couldn't argue with that sentiment. Though he knew that a few bad people would no doubt slip through the cracks, as he had heard about before. "Just ten more minutes?" Tyler groaned.

Fowler rolled his eyes slightly, looking down at Tyler with a grin. He reached forward and tickled Tyler's side carefully, allowing the boy to giggle lightly. "I guess this is what I get for adopting a teenager." He noted with a snort "Alright, ten minutes, but if in fifteen you're not downstairs I'm going to drag you out of bed." He teased, hopping off the bed "Got it?"

"Yeah, Bill." Tyler replied "I'll be up by then."

Tyler did exactly as Fowler told him, even if he was exhausted, he knew that Bill was right. But after tearing through breakfast, Tyler had rushed outside, and leapt carefully onto Breakdown's hood. "Breakdown, I'm freaking out." He felt as Breakdown stirred underneath him, resting onto his tires after a moment "My social worker's coming today to do a check-up... You know, for the adoption."

"And this is a problem, why...?" Breakdown grumbled "Last I checked, Fowler treats you well. The whole thing should go off without a hitch." Breakdown carefully began to transform, depositing Tyler on his shoulder as he did "Don't tell me I've read your relationship with him wrong? If he's been hurting you, just let me know right now and I'll-."

"No, no, it's not that." Tyler threw up his hands "Bill and my relationship's the best thing to happen to me in a while."

Breakdown tilted his head a bit, confusion prominent in his facial features. The mech didn't understand why Tyler was scared, after all, it was very easy for anyone to see Tyler was in a loving environment. "Alright, I'll bite. What is it you're worried about then?" Breakdown questioned "They wouldn't be stupid enough to take you away from a loving home, would they?"

Tyler shrugged his shoulders, taking a deep breath. He felt uncertainty through every inch of his body. Could they do that? If Fowler did one thing wrong or didn't they didn't like something they saw, could they? He hated the thought of being taken away from Fowler after Breakdown's probation, or ever, for that matter. "I don't know, Break." Tyler explained "That's what I'm scared of. My social worker has the power to do that. What if I say the wrong thing, or Bill does?"

"Ty, that's not going to happen."

"I just don't want anyone else to be my dad."

"No one else is going to be your dad." Breakdown explained "Even if something happened, you know Fowler and his family would fight to keep you." He added, Tyler smiled a little at that thought, hoping Breakdown was right "You saw how they treated you, Ty. They love you, you love them. That's the way it works." He then added "Family doesn't give up on each other as long as they've got love."

"When did you get so philosophical?"

Breakdown snorted quietly. "You listen to Optimus long enough and it happens." He shuddered a bit at the thought of becoming that way "Listen, Ty. The point is... If you weren't meant to be with him. Fowler wouldn't have agreed to keep either of us around after probation." Tyler chewed his lip "He wouldn't have told you he loved you. And he sure as pit would not be waking up this early either."

"You really think I have nothing to worry about?" Tyler asked.

"Nada." Breakdown paused "Slag, just got a message from Bulkhead. I gotta go kiddo." Breakdown grunted "Seems like he wants to talk and I'm not about to turn him down while we're finally on good terms." He explained "You gonna be okay if I leave, or do I need to tell him to hold off for an hour?"

Tyler was quiet for a moment, clearly thinking over his answer in his head. Then he nodded, and allowed Breakdown to lower him to the ground. Breakdown didn't like leaving Tyler at a time like this. But he also knew that their relationship wasn't the only one that ultimately needed building. "I'll see you when I get back, right?" Tyler shrugged "I uh... I just needed the confidence boost."

"You'll have to tell me how it went."

Tyler watched as the mech drove off with a quiet sigh. He could only hope that what Breakdown had said would ultimately be right.

...

"So the kid and Fowler's first meeting is today, huh?"

Breakdown nodded his head as he took a sip of his energon cube. Staring up at Bulkhead, he shrugged his shoulders a bit. "It's like I tried to tell him. This is just a formality for those two." He explained "You've seen how Fowler treats him. He could get the "doting father of the year" award if he keeps it up." Bulkhead laughed quietly, and nodded in response "If anyone refuses that adoption, they'll be getting a piece of my processor."

"Mine too." Bulkhead concurred "Anyways, about what I called you here for..."

"Yeah?"

Bulkhead stood from the perch near the edge of the mountain they sat on. It was not near the same area he had spent time with Tyler on, for safety's sake, but Breakdown still felt the desire to check over his shoulder. "I know it's probably long overdue, but I'm sorry..." Bulkhead spoke finally "I've been trying to tell you for a while now but-."

"Sorry?" Breakdown tilted his head "For what?"

"For not trusting you." Bulkhead replied, turning his head "The way that you beat Starscream... The things you said and all." He paused a moment, turning to look at the mech "I've only seen that side of you a couple of times... And if you care about Tyler _that _much." He paused "Yeah, I was kind of an aft for not taking your word for it."

Breakdown stared at Bulkhead, stunned at the apology he had just received. Taking a deep intake of air, he nodded his head slowly. It was an apology he had waited for from all of them, but to hear it from Bulkhead was something he more than appreciated. "It's alright, I don't blame you. After all I've done I would have been the same way." He sighed a bit "I'm just glad you finally figured it out."

Bulkhead nodded, tapping his arm plate a bit. "So, the kid..." Bulkhead paused "He's really like a sparkling to you?"

Breakdown was silent, though he knew the answer was "yes". It was the reason he had stuck by him this long. Tyler was like the child he never had, and even though he only let this go as far as a feeling, it was still dangerous. A major weakness that could be used against him by his enemies in the most horrendous of ways. "Yeah, he is." Breakdown finally spoke up "Before he was just a friend to me... But the more I'm around him. The more I feel this feeling... The more I'd fight for him, protect him..." He paused "Offline for him."

"Hey, don't feel embarrassed." Bulkhead placed a hand on Breakdown's shoulder "I feel the same way about Miko. And it's kinda a natural thing." He explained "We gotta remember that they _are _sparklings. And we have programming that gives us the need to protect sparklings. Unless we override it." He paused "It's always going to be our first instinct to feel that way."

"I've just..." Breakdown paused "I've never felt a vulnerability like I do around him. It feels weird..." He shuddered a bit "And it scares me because I'm an ex-Con. A weakness like that..." He shook his head "Sometimes I wonder if our friendship does us more harm than good." He then added "And what Starscream did doesn't exactly help me think otherwise."

"It scares you because you love him." Bulkhead stated "I mean, that's a feeling I bet you haven't had in a long time."

Breakdown was silent, that was the cold hard truth. It did scare him. It scared him that this boy made him feel that way, it scared him that Tyler probably felt the same, and it _scared_ him that he didn't mind that at all. "Yeah, I guess so." Breakdown explained "But I don't mind it at all. I just... It scares me." He shook his head "I just don't want something to happen to him."

"With you protecting him? Nothing will."

Breakdown only smirked, and looked at Bulkhead, nodding his head a little. He crossed his arms, and finally nodded his head in response. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He slugged Bulkhead's arm lightly "Just like you shouldn't worry about Miko. I've felt your hits, any 'Con that touches her is liable to be begging for mercy before the last punch is thrown." Bulkhead snorted quietly, but nodded in agreement "Hey Bulk?" Bulkhead turned to him "Does this mean we're okay again...?"

Bulkhead was silent, his processor seemingly swirling and attempting to create a response. With a sigh of his own, he looked Breakdown straight in the optic. For a moment, the mech believed Bulkhead would tell him "not yet" yet again. Yet after a moment, he nodded his head firmly. "Just don't break my trust again." Bulkhead said finally "If we're going to give this friendship thing another go, I don't want to be backstabbed again."

"You won't be." Breakdown stated.

Bulkhead held out his hand, which Breakdown took, and they firmly gripped each other's arms. It was a sign of brotherhood, something that Breakdown felt so far from used to by now that it was a welcome feeling. The rest of the Autobots would probably still take some time. But at least for now, he had earned back the friendship of the one mech whose friendship he had always, in the back of his processor, missed.

"You know, as weird as it is..." Breakdown spoke "I did miss you, Bulk."

Bulkhead only smiled at his old friend, and nodded his head. "Yeah, me too." Bulkhead pulled an arm around Breakdown's shoulders "Now what do you say we grab some high grade before a training session?" He questioned "Just like old times."

Breakdown only smirked as the two of them transformed and headed towards the base again. Inside, he smiled, and hoped quietly that Tyler felt as good about today as he was feeling.

...

A/N: I know, short chapter, but I felt the chapter was best capped off there. If I don't have a chapter up by the 25th I hope everyone has a VERY merry Christmas! :D


	29. Musings and Steps

**CHAPTER 29  
Musings and Steps**

"You're not excited?"

"What? It's nothing special." Tyler shrugged his shoulders "It's just a birthday. I mean, I've never made a big deal out of it at least."

Breakdown revved his engine, wondering why Tyler would feel that way. He, after all, most certainly was glad the day existed and therefore, that the young man had been born. "It's more than worth celebrating in my mind." Breakdown explained "You'll have been alive fourteen years and that's a pretty fragging big deal." He then added "I don't see why you don't."

Tyler shrugged, and got off of his friend's hood, crossing his arms a bit. "It's the same reason I don't find Christmas all that exciting. For like, ever it's really just been another day for me." He watched as Breakdown transformed, staring down at him as Tyler glanced back towards Fowler's home "Besides, I doubt Bill even knows it's my birthday on Friday."

Breakdown knew that much wasn't true. As Fowler had asked him about if Tyler had talked about anything he wanted. It had been that way for a while, they'd planned it silently. As he understood, Fowler's family was coming down for a surprise party on Friday. And clearly, Tyler's words confirmed that he was most definitely going to be surprised. "Kid, you really need to get out of that mindset." Breakdown commented "I'm pretty sure your soon-to-be dad knows when you were born."

Tyler shook his head a bit, knowing Breakdown was right. He stared up at the mech a bit, taking a deep breath and patting the side of his leg. As he placed his hands in his pockets, he finally shrugged again. "I know he'll remember at least. But what would he care?" Tyler asked, blowing a strand of his hair out of his eyes "But I can see you sure do."

Breakdown snorted, of course he cared. Tyler was practically like his own youngling in his mind, and he'd already made plans to find him an adequate gift before the week was up. "Nah, I just totally would blow off my favorite human's creation day." Breakdown teased "Primus kid, I'd have to be the worst best friend ever if I just up and forgot you." He added "Remember what your psychiatrist told you. No matter what Brody told you, you have people who love you now."

"Love you too, big guy." Tyler smiled sheepishly.

Breakdown smirked, even if it was weird, he did like hearing those words. Knowing that the fatherly love he had was reciprocated by whatever means Tyler reciprocated the feeling. "And you know who else loves you, right?" Tyler was silent "The man in there. So stop being such a little punk and try to remember that for me, okay?" Tyler nodded "Now, as for your birthday..." He stroked his chin "I guess you don't want me to spoil ye too bad?"

"Break, you don't have to buy me anything."

"I'm going to anyway." Breakdown snorted "So you might as well tell me something you'd want."

Tyler looked thoughtful, accepting what Breakdown said was true. "Well, I guess whatever you want to make or buy me is cool." Tyler managed "I just... I'm not really sure what you could get me." Tyler rubbed the back of his head slightly.

Breakdown sighed. "Guess I'll have to think of something then."

Tyler nodded his head a little, leaning against the side of the house. There had been a lot of fuss about him already, given the social worker's visit (even if it had gone well), as well as his sessions with the psychiatrist. He hated the thought of anyone going through more trouble just for him, especially when it was only him turning fourteen, not a big deal in his mind. "Hey Breakdown?" The mech turned to him "When's your bir-creation day." He corrected himself "If you're getting me something for mine, I'm definitely getting you something for yours."

"This ain't a competition, kid." Breakdown snorted.

"You're my best friend too." Tyler replied "I want to know and get you something."

Breakdown looked thoughtful for a moment, then smirked. "December 12th in your terms. It's passed by now." Breakdown smirked a bit "You'll have to wait a while if you're going to return the favor." Tyler stuck his tongue out lightly "Kid, give celebrating your birthday a chance. I bet it'll be fun." He added.

"Fine, fine." Tyler threw up his hands in defeat "As long as you and Bill really are going to do it." He shook his head "I've heard the promise before."

"Yeah, well, this promise is from us." Breakdown snorted "Not a slime ball who deserves a foot all the way up his aft."

Tyler paused a moment, and nodded his head. "Maybe we can visit my parents on my birthday too." Tyler commented "It's been a few weeks since we went there last... I mean, if you want to." He paused, shaking his head "I don't want to-."

"We can go." Breakdown nodded "Now moving onto other subjects." The mech crouched, and flicked him in the side gently "Fowler's on that conference call all morning." He explained, then added "And yours truly has the day off." He paused a minute, then let another grin cross his features "What do you say we take a drive down to Vegas or something?" He questioned "Ten bucks says I can get you back before he even notices."

"You don't have money."

"Pfffft, details." Breakdown waved him off for a bit "Do you wanna ride that New York, New York coaster you've been going on about or not?"

Tyler was silent, and chewed his lip, then slowly nodded his head. After all, it was the weekend, and it did sound fun. "All right, but if we get in trouble, this was all your idea." Tyler joked as Breakdown transformed down.

Breakdown rumbled his engines, letting Tyler climb inside him. He knew that Fowler would be frustrated, but he _had_ told him to keep the kid busy while he wrapped gifts. Taking off down the road, he simply hummed at his own idea. And happy with the thought of finally getting out of small town hell for a change. He just hoped that he could sustain his holoform long enough to get in on the fun.

...

_Clang! Clang!_

"You seem annoyed."

Knock Out looked up from the Vehicon he was working the dents out of to eye Airachnid carefully. The femme had one of her casual smirks that all too often irked him. It usually meant she was looking for trouble, or to mock him if nothing else. "No, not at _all_." Knock Out stated sarcastically "I'm simply enjoying the increase in my work load. Oh and I'm _really_ enjoying the fact that it's because my so-called "partner" ditched me for some fragging insect." He threw a bent wrench across the room "Of course I'm ANNOYED."

Airachnid tilted her head a bit, putting her hands on her hips and approaching him. "You know Breakdown will be back." Airachnid commented "It's only a matter of time before Megatron forces him to return." She explained "I hear he's already formulating plans to catch the insect."

Knock Out was silent at that, uncertain whether to believe it. And oddly, wondering whether or not he wanted that. The betrayal had stung him hard enough that even switching loyalties wouldn't help much. It didn't change the fact that his partner, his so-called best friend had changed sides for a boy he hardly knew. A boy that probably wouldn't last more than a few more Earth decades at that. "Who said I wanted him back?" Knock Out snapped "I'm his best friend, I really should be supporting his decision." He noted "I could care less what he ultimately decides."

"You're a bad liar." Airachnid sneered "I bet if you had the chance, you'd crush the insect and have him back in a second."

Knock Out was silent again, as if thinking it over. He shook his head, and stood to his feet, grabbing a few more tools off the nearby table. He didn't like the idea of hurting Breakdown that way either. Perhaps using him as bait was one thing, but hurting someone that was obviously precious to the mech was another. "I'd want Breakdown back, you're probably right about that." Knock Out snarked "But hurting someone close to my friend is not something I'd do either." He then added "Besides, Starscream said he was just a kid... That's just taking things to another level, hurting younglings."_  
_

"What about the ones you put down when Kaon fell?"

"That was different..." Knock Out muttered "They were offlining slowly. I put them out of their misery."

Airachnid nearly chuckled, unnerving the medic slightly. It was true, he had put them out of their misery to save them from a much slower and harsher death, even if some didn't believe it. "But if you take him out of the equation, Breakdown will surely come back." Airachnid added "Think about it, just tell Megatron you want to do it, it can be quick, painless."

"Are you in need of repairs?" Knock Out shot back "Because if you're not, you need to leave. You've distracted me enough!"

Knock Out carefully returned to his work, turning his back to the femme. Airachnid simply crossed her arms, unamused at the fact she clearly couldn't push past Knock Out's simple moral codes. The moral codes that most, if not all, mechs and femmes should carry. Kids had no sides, at least not ones as young as he understood "Tyler" was, and though he often hid that he felt this way, he felt it deep down. "Fine, be a spoil sport." Airachnid chided "You'd better clean up that act though. Because when we do handle the situation you'll have to leave your conscious at the door."

Knock Out watched as the femme quietly walked away. He growled softly, leaning back against the table. He knew that Airachnid was right, he couldn't and wouldn't go against Megatron if he ordered the death of the boy. He wouldn't be the one to do it, but he definitely would not stop it either. Frankly, he knew it was more than likely inevitable. As angry as he was with Breakdown, he also knew that the mech was probably not attached to anyone on the other side besides the boy.

He sighed, his thoughts continued to stray to the thought as he returned to his work. Quietly, he worked his way into pushing the thoughts aside. Breakdown had made his choice, he had betrayed him and that was the end of the story. He wouldn't bother the boy, or harm him. He wouldn't let Breakdown get under his plating over his betrayal either. He'd simply continue on with life as it was now, after all, what else could he do? Breakdown had proven to him that he was, and always would be a solo act.

But even so, even while putting these thoughts into his head, he knew that he would always miss the big lug. And deep down, he'd always want him back.

...

Tyler leaned back quietly against his pillow, rubbing his eyes. His day in Vegas had been fun, no doubt about that. And though Fowler had had a long lecture with them about not taking off like that again, he felt it had been worth it. The rides had been fun, and he'd even managed to get in an episode of a TV Show that had yet to air in one of the hotels. "Ty?" He heard a knock on his door, and turned his head "Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

Fowler carefully opened the door and stepped inside. The man looked exhausted, and had some tape still on his body. Tyler already had the feeling that Fowler had been doing something other than a conference call, but that had pretty much confirmed it. "Hope you didn't get me that much." Tyler noted, Fowler raised his eyebrows in surprise "I'm only turning fourteen."

Fowler chuckled, putting his fists on his hips with a grin. "I won't spoil you too bad, I promise." He stated calmly, downplaying it so that the surprise party wouldn't be spoiled "But I'm still going to give you a few little things if nothing else." He then added "Every kid should get a little something on their birthday." he concluded "But that's not why I'm up here."

"Okay, then what is it?"

Fowler stared down at the boy quietly, crossing his arms. "What do you think about pets?"

"Like dogs or cats?" Tyler asked "Never had one."

Fowler nodded his head a bit. "But do you _like _animals?"_  
_

Tyler stared up at Fowler, confusion in his eyes. "Well, I uh... I've played with dogs before, yeah, I guess I like them." Tyler shook his head a bit "Why? You don't have pets, do you?" He questioned.

Fowler smirked a bit, and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, sort of... You see, after the conference call. You guys were still gone so I decided to go into town for a bit." Fowler stepped towards the door "They say that animals are really good for healing... And I found..." He carefully returned with a small puppy, that looked like a golden retriever puppy in his hands "This little guy being given away with a whole litter."

"Whoa, really?" Tyler stated in shock.

"Yeah." Fowler stated, carefully bringing the puppy up to the bed and setting him down "At first I was just taking a look because they were cute. But I was thinking about the whole animal and healing thing... And I..." He paused a moment "Well, if you're willing to give it a shot. I thought you could keep him."

Tyler stared at the puppy, who looked up and kissed his chin gently. The dog was adorable, that much he was positive of. But he couldn't believe this was happening. He had never thought about that, but he knew Fowler was right, he had heard that too. "Is he really mine?"

"If you want him." Fowler shook his head "They say he's potty trained, has his shots and everything... So he's pretty dang self-sufficient. When he gets bigger and a bit better trained, I bet you can even bring him to base." Tyler grinned widely "What do you say, kid?"

Tyler nodded his head. "Thanks Bill." Tyler spoke up "I'm gonna call him Zak. I always said if I had a dog I'd name him that. Always liked the name." Tyler carefully held "Zak" on his lap, and began to pet him carefully "Bill?" The man stared down at him carefully "Thanks for being such a good dad..." He paused "I don't think I thank you enough."

Fowler chuckled. "You thank me plenty." He patted the boy's head "I'm just glad you like 'im." He stood to his feet again and sighed "Now, I'm gonna let you go to sleep. Just wanted to get this out of the way before bed." He yawned quietly "Don't worry about if he has to go out. I'll keep my ears open." Tyler nodded his head "Goodnight, kiddo."

"Goodnight..." Tyler paused a moment, as if thinking about it "Goodnight, pop." He paused a minute, Fowler frowned "I uh... Was thinking. I'm not ready to call you "dad" yet. But... "Pop" means the same thing. I've never had a "pop" before." He paused "Do you think until I'm ready I can call you that? That's what my friend Donnie calls his dad, and-."

"I like "pop"." Fowler nodded his head "We can go with "pop" until you're ready if you want."

Tyler smiled, nodding his head. "I love you, pop."

"Love you too, son."

As Fowler left the two of them to their sleep, he couldn't help but smile widely. He still wasn't "dad", but he could definitely be "pop". And to say the least, that was more than a great start.

...

A/N: Finally got in something from Knock Out's side! Hope you guys are satisfied with that. :) Anyways, reviews make my day as always! :)


	30. A Calming Celebration

**CHAPTER 30  
A Calming Celebration**

Tyler made his way down the stairs quietly, rubbing his eyes. Turning fourteen didn't make him feel any older, nor did the day feel any more special. Yet he did feel an aura of excitement in the air. He sighed quietly, stepping into the kitchen to the aroma of bacon and eggs. "Morning, pop." Tyler muttered as Fowler stared up from his work "Man, that smells good."

"Morning, birthday boy." Fowler chuckled "I knew it was your favorite." He paused, grinning a little.

Tyler only grinned back, allowing the man to pull an arm around him. It was hard to believe that a few months ago, he'd have pulled away and maybe even fought. But he simply smiled as his foster father planted a kiss on top of his head and released him. Tyler's eyes averted towards the window as a loud honk filled the air. "Sounds like Breakdown wants to wish me a happy birthday too." Tyler chuckled quietly "Think I got time to go out and see him, pop?"

"Of course." Fowler nodded "Just be sure to be back in before too long."

Tyler nodded, jogging out the doorway and towards Breakdown's waiting form. Immediately he found a package beside his form, as Breakdown slowly transformed to his feet. "Well there's the birthday boy." Breakdown noted calmly "Hope you don't mind, I saw you up and well..." He looked down as Tyler took the present carefully "I uh... Wasn't really sure if you'd like it so..."

"Can I open it?" Tyler asked.

"Well... I mean it is for you." Breakdown managed.

Tyler shook his head, tilting it and blinking. He had never seen Breakdown look nervous in a way like this. And quite frankly, it almost concerned him that the mech seemed as nervous as he did. "Break. I'm sure whatever you got me is awesome." Tyler explained "I told you before, you didn't have to get me anything... The fact you even did is awesome enough."

Breakdown only nodded, allowing the boy to tear into the gift. Breakdown looked awkward, barely turning to look. Tyler looked at the box, and then carefully reached inside to bring out a small device. Tyler noted that it didn't look much bigger than a cell phone, and had an Autobot symbol button on it. "What's this?" Tyler asked.

"Press the symbol."

Tyler was quiet for a moment, and did as Breakdown told him to do. After a moment, a holographic wave fell over his face, moving up and down fluidly before slowly disappearing . For a moment, Tyler found himself confused. "What was that?" Tyler looked up at Breakdown "What did-?"

"Ty, pick a memory, and ask it to show you."

"What?"

"Just trust me."

Tyler shifted uncomfortably a moment, but thought about it internally. "Show me... My first birthday."

For a moment, nothing happened. But soon, a projection came up, like a small screen. He saw his father's face, he heard his father's voice, his mother was behind him, smiling wide. The soothing voices went on for a moment and continued until Tyler carefully pressed the button, turning the projection off as he had thought it would. "It's... A handheld version of our photographic memories. As long as the memories are deep in your brain, it can project them for you. All it takes is a short scan of your brain." Breakdown explained "Ratchet and I worked on it. I just thought... Maybe, even if you can't have your parents back."

"Thank you." Tyler carefully wrapped his arms around the mech's leg "I don't know if I could ever... Thank you properly."

"You're welcome." Breakdown replied, smiling a bit "I'm glad I picked a good gift."

"Better than good." Tyler closed his eyes "It's perfect."

Breakdown nodded his head, and allowed the boy to let go of his leg. "I'm glad to hear it." Breakdown finally spoke "I wanted it to be something meaningful." he added calmly.

"I just hope pop doesn't, y'know, take it the wrong-."

"I already talked it over with Fowler. He gave the OK. So don't even worry about it." Breakdown told him "But you really should probably go back inside, kid. He's probably wondering when you're coming back."

Tyler nodded his head, but leaned against Breakdown's leg slightly. He sighed quietly, looking up at the mech and grinning. Breakdown couldn't entirely tell why Tyler was grinning, but he still brought himself to return it. "I guess you were right, about the whole... Birthday thing." Tyler finally stated, taking a deep breath "Should've trusted you guys to really care."

"See." Breakdown patted his back "There's that trust we've been working hard to earn." He jested lightly, getting the sight of Tyler's tongue in return "Whatttt? It's true! I mean look at you. A few months ago you wouldn't even trust me. Now look at you." He pointed out calmly "You're calling Fowler "pop", you're allowing people to touch you..."

"A couple of months ago I was still sleeping on a cot in a walk-in closet." Tyler grimaced "Or on bad nights, just a tiny closet."

Breakdown grimaced, but nodded his head in agreement. Though he, like everyone else, liked to pretend that that part of his life had never happened. Tyler did most of the time too, but at the same time, one couldn't pretend it never happened. "Yeah, I guess that's true too." Breakdown sighed "Point is... I'm glad we're at this point now." He paused a minute.

Tyler nodded his head, starting for the house slowly before carefully peering over his shoulder. "Me too, Breakdown." Tyler replied calmly "Thanks again for letting me... Have this chance." He then added "Now enough of the sappy stuff. That isn't you." Breakdown snorted a bit "I'll talk to you after breakfast, okay big guy?" He paused "Love you."

Breakdown merely smiled, and transformed down, waiting for what came next.

...

Fowler could tell that Tyler was a little shocked at the fact he'd gone out of his way to throw a birthday party. But even so, Tyler had quickly jumped into enjoying the pool party with a couple of friends, and his new family at a pool in town. Unlike the first time they had gotten the family together, Tyler shined and immediately leaped at the chance to hang out with his cousins, while Fowler and Perry handled the rest. Breakdown had kept to the side, observing the festivities even with the other Autobots (minus Ratchet, who was holding down the fort on-base), in holoform, enjoying the party as well.

It was an even better turn out than the agent had expected, and he was glad to see it was so. "Woo! Watch out you guys! CANNONBALL!"

"Miko!"

Fowler chuckled as Miko make a quick run for the pool and crashed into the water. Landing near Tyler with a loud _splash_! Miko grinned, pulling an arm around the boy at once. "Whoa dude, will you look at this party Fowler put on?" She then added "There has to be like fifty people here! I know we're late, were you surprised? Was your face totally like." She quickly feigned shock.

Tyler chuckled, and nodded. "Yeah, pop got me pretty good." Tyler laughed, floating backwards "Thanks for coming, guys." He stated as Raf approached, grimacing slightly at the pool "What's the matter, Raf?"

"Not that strong a swimmer."

Tyler frowned a little bit, his eyes softening. "If it helps, I'm not one either." He motioned over "Come on, jump in, bro. We won't let you drown."

Tyler carefully peered over Raf's shoulder at the boy behind him. Already, Tyler got the feeling that the dark haired teen in front of him was Jack Darby. "And you must be... Jack." Tyler swam up towards the edge and climbed out, holding a hand out "It's nice to meet you, I've heard a lot of things..." He then added "All good, I swear."

The boy gave a small half smile, and nodded, shaking his hand. "I've heard a lot about you too." He replied "Sorry we haven't gotten a chance to meet until now. Seems like we're both just busy a lot of the time." He added.

"I think the four of us always are."

Jack only laughed at that, though Tyler knew it was true. After all, there had never been a dull moment since he'd met Breakdown. He could only imagine how insane the lives of the rest of the group had been, given they'd been with them for much longer. He quickly sniffed the air as the smell of fresh hot dogs wafted into his nostrils. "Smells good, pop!" He announced "Are we ready to eat?"

Fowler rolled his eyes, flipping a hot dog calmly. "That kid's always thinking with his stomach." Fowler muttered "A couple more minutes now, Ty." He then added "You wanna taste?"

"I'll wait."

Tyler made his way towards the barbecue, looking down at the food, then around at the chaos around him. He couldn't believe that this was all for him, let alone for his birthday. The last time he'd had any semblance o a real birthday had been when he was three, and he barely remembered that day now. "Pop?" Fowler stared down at Tyler slowly "You know you didn't _have _to do this, right?"

"I know." Fowler ran a hand along his head "But I wanted to."

Tyler didn't question it as the festivities went on. He simply allowed himself to sit back and have fun for a day. He forgot for a moment all the bad things he'd had happen, he'd forgotten all those crummy old birthdays. Right now, here and then, was without a doubt the best day of his life. Up to a certain point. "Alright guys, the birthday boy is refusing to get back in because he's "too full"." Breakdown chuckled after they had eaten "Who wants to help me chuck him in the pool."

"Breakdown, I'll kill you." Tyler told him cross-eyed.

"Oh! Oh! Let me get his legs!" Miko shouted.

Tyler's eyes widened, and began to bolt from the crazy young woman who chased him along the edge of the pool. When he'd finally been casually shoved in by Breakdown, and come up for air, Tyler stared up at his guardian with an unamused growl. "If you weren't a hologram, I would totally get payback." Breakdown smirked "But don't worry, I still will. I know where you recharge!"

"Good luck with that." Breakdown snarked.

Tyler simply swatted Breakdown's leg, knocking the holoform in. Though it obviously did nothing, it still brought a grin to Tyler's face. "You punk." Breakdown played along, carefully, wrapping his arms around Tyler and tickling his sides "We're gonna play it that way, huh?" He asked.

As Tyler burst out into giggles, Breakdown only grinned. Realizing that what he was seeing was Tyler coming further out of his shell. Something that had started when he first met Fowler's family, and continued up to now. Carefully throwing Tyler into the air and letting him crash in the water he smirked. "No fair!" Tyler laughed "You're stronger than I am! Even as a human."

"Boys." Fowler put his hands on his hips "You two coming for cake and presents, or what?"

Tyler quickly made his way out of the pool, rushing forward as Breakdown climbed out as well. He allowed a holographic towel to appear on him, and pretended to dry himself off. He watched as Tyler took his seat in front of the cake, he heard the singing. And he only smirked widely, happily. _I'm so glad that kid didn't end up like me. _He thought to himself.

He rubbed the side of his arm as he continued to approach the procession. He promised himself that when the hardest parts of what had come from his turncoat came again. He'd remember this day, this moment, the look on Tyler's face as he realized just how many people were there and cared about him. And most of all, Breakdown would remember the arm Bulkhead put around him as he smiled over. He'd remember all the good that had come from it, and he would remember that it all made the bad worth going through.

...

By the end of the day, a tired Tyler, Fowler, and Breakdown were on the road home. Tyler rested against Fowler's lap, snoring quietly as Breakdown drove down the road towards home. Breakdown tried to ignore the extra added weight of the gifts that occupied his back seat. Tyler's friends and family had certainly gone out of their way to make sure he had quite a few, that was for sure. "I think the kid had a good time today." Fowler chuckled lightly "Did you have a good time, big guy?"

Breakdown was silent for a moment, but gave a light rumble of his engine. "Believe it or not, I actually did." Breakdown replied "I especially enjoyed watching the kid open his presents. He looked like a five vorn old sparkling in an energon treat store." Fowler chuckled at that "I especially enjoyed your gift to him..." He added "That pocket watch with your family crest is pretty awesome."

"It's tradition." Fowler shrugged "Tyler deserved a little piece of his new family. Just like he has one of his old one."

"Along with the nearly five hundred dollars in electronics?"

Fowler kicked Breakdown's dashboard gently. Smirking a bit as he reached down and traced his hand along his foster son's back. "Eh, so I spoiled him a little. It's his first birthday with me, I couldn't help it." Fowler commented "I mean did you see the look on his face? It was totally worth it." He laughed a bit "Do you think I did good? I mean, it wasn't TOO much, right?"

"Nah." Breakdown replied "I've never been a dad. But you've been doing a good job as far as I'm concerned."

Fowler leaned back a bit, sighing quietly. For a moment, there was silence between the two of them, and then the agent spoke. "I really should thank you." Breakdown nearly stopped in confusion "I know, that sounds weird. But... If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't even have Tyler." He explained "I feel like I should thank you for switching sides."

"Uh, yeah. You're welcome." Breakdown stated "I was just trying to keep my friend safe."

Fowler smirked a bit. "Well, I'm glad you made the choice you did. All things considered, I'm glad we got to know each other." Fowler admitted quietly "You might be a lugnut most of the time. But I think... I don't think that this was just some coincidence." He then added "It's not just Tyler that really makes me feel like some missing part of my life is being filled."

Breakdown was silent, mostly stunned by Fowler's comment. The man had been kinder than when they first met, that much was true. But to hear that he meant as great a deal to Fowler as that oddly warmed his spark. "Yeah, well..." Breakdown was silent again, but spoke up "You two are the best things to happen to me in stellar cycles too." He explained "I'm glad that I've been able to fill that void, Fowler."

As he pulled to a stop in front of the house, Fowler carefully climbed out with Tyler passed out in his arms. There was a silent moment between the man and mech, and then he sighed. "I'll be back for the rest of the stuff. You know, after I get him up to bed." He commented "You should get some recharge too, big guy. Just leave the door open for me." He then added "I'm sure you could use the sleep with all the nights you spend sitting awake out here."

"I appreciate the concern." Breakdown stated as he sunk onto his tires "Goodnight, Agent Fowler."

"Goodnight, Breakdown."

As Fowler made his way inside the home to put Tyler to bed, Breakdown revved his engines again. Thankful to be able to take Fowler's kid words to spark. And most of all, thankful that he had been stuck with the "stoic ol' liaison" he had practically fought against going to live with. Because as of that day, he realized, he couldn't imagine a life without his two human charges in his life.


	31. A Lot On The Mind

**CHAPTER 31  
A Lot On The Mind**

"You're awfully quiet."

Tyler stared up at Breakdown, frowning slightly. The boy was leaning against the wall, a notebook and pencil in his hand. Tyler shrugged his shoulders, rubbing an eye tiredly. "Eh, you know me, Break. When pop's working late, I get tired." Tyler explained with a shrug "Besides, I've been doing homework." Breakdown raised an optic ridge "What?"

"You're lying to me." Breakdown noted "That isn't normal."

"How can you tell?"

"Doesn't matter, why are you lying to me?"

Tyler closed the notebook quietly, standing to his feet. "W-We didn't visit them. On my birthday." Tyler stared up at Breakdown "We said we would, and we didn't."

Breakdown took several seconds to figure out what Tyler was talking about. But after a moment, it did hit him. He remembered promising Tyler they'd go to visit his parents. He remembered it and felt like someone had just punched him in the spark. "Ty, oh scrap, kid. We got so involved, I totally forgot.. I..." He paused a moment "It was my fault-."

"No it wasn't." Tyler shook his head "I remembered half-way through... But I just..." He paused a moment "I felt like I didn't belong there the other day and it makes me... Confused." He looked up at Breakdown silently "Am I a bad person, Break? It was my birthday and I didn't want to be there... I didn't want to see them." Breakdown frowned slightly "Why would I-?"

"You're moving on." Breakdown commented calmly "Sure, you love your parents kid. And no, you're not a bad person either." He carefully crouched down "It's just... After a while, when you find people that care about you, you don't need to hold onto the past as much." He stroked his chin "It's a part of growing up. And probably a big part about getting adopted."

Tyler stared down at the ground, kicking up imaginary dust. Breakdown could tell that this bothered Tyler on many levels. But he also knew that it was bound to happen. He had a good life now, he didn't need to cling to their memory all the time. "I just... I don't get it. I miss them, but I still..." He paused, setting his chin on his knees "Do you think they hate me up there?"

"They love you." Breakdown explained "Kid, don't do this to yourself. Every orphan goes through this is they're lucky enough to find a good life." Tyler was silent, but slowly nodded his head, uncertainty in his eyes "Hey Ty?" He was silent for a moment "What do you say we go down there tomorrow?" He asked "I bet seeing them would make you feel better."

"You have work too."

"If I told Prime the situation I'm sure he'd get it."

Tyler rubbed his eye, sitting down on the ground. Breakdown sighed quietly, sitting down as well. "I just... Promise me... That I'm not going to forget them now." Tyler gulped slightly, his eyes shifted up to the giant mech "I don't want to forget my parents. Even if I do got a new family now."

"That's never gonna happen." Breakdown assured.

Tyler took a deep breath, but nodded yet again. He could tell by Breakdown's optics this time that he was telling the truth. He stood to his feet, and looked away, his eyes averting to the ground. Breakdown could tell that he was taking this hard, but at the same time, he also knew if he couldn't help enough by now, Tyler would have to realize this on his own. "So..." Tyler looked up at Breakdown again "Can we go visit their graves tomorrow? I mean... Would Optimus really let you?"

Breakdown nodded his head solemnly. "Yeah, I think if I talked to him about how you feel, we could." He paused "Maybe we can even pick up a couple of flowers to set at their gravestones. That's what you humans do, right?" Tyler nodded his head "You should let Fowler know we're going there though. You know he might worry if I pick you up from school and we don't show back up."

"Don't worry, I heard."

Tyler turned to see that Fowler was indeed heading over, fixing his tie a bit. Tyler could tell that his foster father was nervous, but he simply stared at the boy. "I can take an hour or two off too. We'll all go." Tyler felt his stomach twist "Ty, listen to me. I get that you want to visit them. I get that you're worried about me... Replacing them."

"Pop, I-."

"I'm not going to do that." Fowler explained "But I do think I should talk to them myself."

"They can't hear you." Tyler stated in confusion "They're dead."

"That's okay." Fowler explained "On the off chance they can hear me up there. I want them to know their son is in good hands."

Tyler was silent, but a smile crept over his lips. Again, Breakdown was amazed by Fowler's capacity to know the right thing to say and do with Tyler, how to keep him calm. Underneath it all, Breakdown felt a subtle jealousy, but reminded himself the man was rightfully Tyler's legal guardian and should know these things. "Alright, pop. That's cool... I guess." Tyler looked thoughtful "You're not insulted or anything?"

Fowler pulled an arm around him. "Not at all. I'm your dad, but they'll always be your parents." Fowler explained "And we'll both make sure that you never forget that. Or them." He pointed at the boy "I'd never let you forget two of the most important people in your life." He then added "Now come on, let's go home. I'm feeling Round Table Pizza for dinner."

Tyler smiled slightly. "Sounds good."

Breakdown transformed down, popping the doors open for his human charges to climb in. He hoped this would be the end of Tyler's worries in regards to forgetting his parents. But he also knew all things came in good time, so he knew it may have been only false hope.

...

That night, Tyler's nightmares came back in full force. But rather than wake Fowler or Breakdown up, he pulled himself from his bed. The clock read three in the morning, but he ultimately didn't care. He'd been up at earlier recovering from nightmares, making that night be one of the good nights. It was to his surprise, however, that he found Fowler quietly seated at the kitchen table, still in pajamas. "You wake up this early?" Fowler stared up at him, a cup of coffee in his hand "Why?"

Fowler shook his head. "I should ask you the same thing." Fowler replied "You have school in six hours. You should be in bed." He explained as Tyler took a seat in front of the man "Another nightmare?" Tyler nodded his head as the man took his hand gently "You gotta stop worrying as much as you do, Ty. That's why you're having nightmares."

Tyler shook his head, chewing his lip in silent uncertainty. "I know." He finally spoke up "I just... what you said helped, and I'm okay about all that now..." He paused quietly "Or at least, I'm not doing that bad about it anyway." He explained.

"Is it Brody again?" Fowler questioned "You know he's serving four life sentences."

Tyler shook his head, he had made peace with Brody. He still suffered from those nightmares every so often, but they were starting to become less-frequent. The trauma was still there, it would always be there, and he knew it. But at least he now had more control over it. "I'm scared about Breakdown..." Fowler frowned "Don't tell him I said that... But... The Decepticons..." He paused "He's risked a ton because of me. He's risked his life."

"Yeah...?"

"I'm scared that any day now they're going to go after him." Tyler paused "And they're going to kill him. Or at least try to." He shook his head "Some nights I just kind of... Have nightmares about it." He shook his head "Even though I never bring it up because I don't want him worrying, I'm still scared." He looked down "Because I can't loose him, pop. Not now.."

Fowler was silent, shaking his head a little and sighing as he rubbed Tyler's shoulders gently. "You've had a lot on your mind lately, haven't you?" Tyler nodded his head slowly "I get being afraid of the whole parents thing. It makes sense. I might be a little too, even if it would never happen." He paused "But Breakdown's a strong mech, you know that." He explained "He isn't going anywhere."

"What if they do kill him?" Tyler questioned "Will it be my fault?" He then added "I'm the reason the whole thing with Starscream happened. And now they know and..."

"Ty, you've seen the real Breakdown." Fowler explained "With or without you this was bound to happen."

Tyler hated to say that Fowler was right. With the soft side that Breakdown did have, he was bound to die or switch sides eventually. Either way, Breakdown was destined for this tough life, just like Tyler had been. "Do you really think he's okay knowing that?" Tyler asked, looking towards the mech outside the window, deep in recharge "You don't think he resents it, do you?"

"Are you kidding me? Give him any situation you were in danger." Fowler stated "That guy would die for you." He tightened his grip on Tyler's hand "We both would."

"Don't talk like that." Tyler stated "If either of you died..."

"Figure of speech, kiddo." He assured "Neither of us are going to die, okay?"

Tyler hesitated for a moment, but slowly nodded in response. He rested his head on the table, tired, but still slightly felt saddened at the thought. He could only hope that Fowler was right, that Breakdown would end up okay. But at the same time, it remained hard for him to imagine a good outcome to the situation with the Decepticons. "Pop?" Fowler stared down at him "Am I stupid for worrying so much?"

"Nah. I like that you care so much." Fowler stated "The fact you care about others this much is what makes you such a great kid."

Tyler perked up a little at that thought. Knowing that Fowler felt that way definitely contributed to raising his spirits up. But he also knew that even Fowler could not predict the future. He could still be wrong, yet he also hoped that he was right. That they'd all end up okay at the end and everything he worried about would be for nothing. "I'm sorry I bothered you about all this." Tyler finally stated "I know I'm such a worry wart."

"It's my job to hear this." Fowler explained "But now you need to get back to bed." He nudged the boy slightly "Go on, you still have five hours before it's time to wake up for school. Enjoy them while you can."

For a moment, Tyler hesitated again, standing to his feet slowly. He gave Fowler a careful hug around his neck, to which Fowler returned. "Get some sleep too, pop. Can't be too good for you to be up this early." He smiled "Goodnight."

"Goodnight bud, sweet dreams." Fowler watched as the boy slowly left, headed up the stairs and out of sight.

Outside, Breakdown simply shifted down onto his wheels in response. He didn't like Tyler to worry about him, worrying about his parents he could deal with. But him being one of his chief worries hurt him. He didn't want the boy to be afraid to loose him, he knew that wouldn't happen, he had _sworn _it would never happen. But at the end of the day, he could only hope that Tyler would understand that. He could tell him, but what would be the use? If he didn't trust Fowler's judgement fully, he wouldn't trust his.

_Don't worry kid._ Breakdown thought solemnly _This is my fight, not yours._

In that silent moment, he prayed to Primus that it would never _become _Tyler's fight either.


End file.
